Watch: Lewis Hamilton overtake attempts on Kimi Raikkonen and Max Verstappen compared

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen took different approaches to wheel-to-wheel combat at the 2018 Italian Grand Prix. A couple of videos have now surfaced on Twitter that show the two drivers' overtaking efficiencies.

Watch them here:

Kimi Raikkonen produced a stunning lap during qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix in 2018. In the process, the Finn beat championship protagonists Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton to take his 18th and final pole position in F1.

On Sunday, Sebastian Vettel dropped out of contention on lap 1, leaving Raikkonen and Hamilton to battle for the win. After failing to overtake a rapid Ferrari on track, Mercedes opted for an aggressive strategy for Hamilton. The Briton rapidly caught up to Raikkonen with nine laps remaining and initiated a clean pass on the turn 1 chicane. With the Finn giving his rival enough room on the outside, Hamilton was able to make the pass stick and take the lead in the race.

This was in contrast to a similar move made by his teammate Valtteri Bottas on Max Verstappen. Qualifying behind Bottas, Verstappen had managed to overcut the Finn during the pitstops to move himself up to P3. He, however, lacked the straight-line speed to keep the Mercedes from taking the remaining podium position away from him.

Watch it here:

On lap 43, a rapid Bottas caught up to Verstappen heading into the turn 1 braking zone. In an attempt to prevent the Mercedes from passing him into the chicane, Verstappen aggressively cut across the track, forcing Bottas into the grass and making contact with his rear wheels.

The stewards didn’t take kindly to Verstappen’s antics and duly awarded him a five-second penalty. When the Dutchman crossed the checkered flag in P3, the penalty dropped him to P5 post-race, behind Bottas and Vettel.

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Lewis Hamilton might need to alter his approach to racing in 2022

Lewis Hamilton is arguably one of the greatest drivers in F1 history, accumulating more race victories, pole positions, and podiums than any other driver in the sport. While he has continued to win more and more titles, Hamilton has, however, generally avoided wheel-to-wheel combat unless absolutely necessary.

Instead, the Briton has always chosen to maximize his mastery over the tricky Pirelli tires and the pace advantage of his Mercedes to outmaneuver his rivals with strategy. Hamilton and Mercedes in “fresh air” is often a deadly combo that his recent rivals, including, at times, Max Verstappen, have struggled to match.

The reasoning behind this approach has been clear: wheel-to-wheel racing, while exciting to watch, is risky and could potentially end up being costly. For Hamilton and Mercedes, outqualifying their rivals on Saturday and then disappearing off into the distance come Sunday was the best approach.

For years, Mercedes has built a so-called “qualifying car” – optimized for pure pace rather than for wheel-to-wheel racing. This means that Mercedes were often the fastest cars in qualifying, and in “fresh air” during races, but would greatly suffer in “dirty air” when following other cars closely.

Whenever he is forced to overtake the field, Lewis Hamilton has time and again displayed his ability to scythe through the field in impressive fashion. While he has generally avoided taking unnecessary risks, the seven-time world champion's ability to battle wheel-to-wheel is unquestionable.

The different aero philosophy of the 2022 cars, however, may not allow Hamilton the luxury of avoiding risks that may require changing his approach. This is something he must note if he wants to clinch a record-breaking eighth world title in the upcoming season.