Hill sees Verstappen take risk: 'Otherwise it would have been a catastrophe'

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18 April 2021 at 21:10
  • GPblog.com

Damon Hill enjoys the duel between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. While the Mercedes driver was the winner in Bahrain, Verstappen was the winner three weeks later in Imola. According to the 60-year old Brit, the two men and their cars (the RB16B and the W12) barely give in to each other.

"It's so close between the Red Bull with Verstappen and Hamilton in the Mercedes," said Hill in Sky Sports ' afterthought . The 1996 world champion argues that there is only a "wafer-thin paper" between them. The difference in the world championship between the two men is only one point after two Grands Prix.

Verstappen took a risk

The F1 analyst analyzes the start of the race where Verstappen immediately manages to advance from third place to first. "It was a very bold move down the hill [on Hamilton at the start of the race. All you have to do is touch a bit of grass and it would have been a catastrophe. He (Max) forcefully held his line, and I think Lewis made a bit of a mistake holding on to his position."

Hamilton chose the outside and didn't go on the attack for fear of causing a touché. From Max's point of view, it was a smart move by aggressively diving into the inside. "He squeezed him (Lewis) onto the rumble strips and of course he damaged the front wing end plate," Hill concluded.