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Hamilton calls Verstappen 'bully': 'That's not how I operate'

4 March 2022 at 11:33
Last update 4 March 2022 at 12:47
  • GPblog.com

Lewis Hamilton doesn't really think Max Verstappen's style on the track is worthy of a compliment. The Mercedes driver says in the new season of Drive to Survive that he doesn't really like Verstappen's methods and that he himself prefers to take a different approach.

""I think Max is aggressive as hell. And more often than not, he pushes it to the limit and beyond," Hamilton begins according to Express recount. The seven-time world champion calls his Dutch rival a 'bully.' "I've raced against a lot of drivers. There is always bullies, but that's not how I operate. I just try and beat them on track."

In the episode, Hamilton also allegedly said that the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was "rigged" so Verstappen could win. The British driver is even said to have briefly considered quitting Formula 1, but later tells the Netflix cameras that he never announced that he would be closing the door behind him. Hamilton doesn't understand why people thought that.

Wolff in documentary

Team boss Toto Wolff states that Verstappen owes his world title to team manager Jonathan Wheatley and that Michael Masi "definitely" regrets the decisions he made. Furthermore, he feels that the FIA should have recognized earlier that there was a problem with the structure and with "personalities.