Lewis Hamilton: Max Verstappen driving “pretty much the same” as 2021

Lewis Hamilton says Max Verstappen is driving “pretty much the same” as he was during their titanic and controversial F1 title fight in 2021.

Verstappen’s wheel-to-wheel conduct has been brought into the spotlight after clashes with title rival Lando Norris in the last two races in the United States and Mexico City. The Red Bull driver was hit with two penalties totalling 20-seconds for twice running Norris off-track during last weekend’s grand prix.

Norris branded Verstappen’s driving as “dangerous” and said the three-time world champion “got what he had coming to him” in Mexico City, with his tactics drawing some comparisons to controversial run-ins with Hamilton from three years ago.

Asked if he agrees with fellow Briton Norris’s view about Verstappen’s driving, Hamilton said: “All you have to do is go back and listen to some of my radio comments back in the day. It’s not something I really want to tap into.

“It’s nothing to do with me at the moment. Obviously if I was in the battle I could lean more into it. These are things you have to ask those two because those are the ones that it’s affecting.

“But I don’t think you’re seeing much difference across the years, from 2021 till now, it’s pretty much the same.”

Asked if he thinks F1 has become more aggressive than when he started out in 2007, Hamilton replied: “I don’t think so. I’ve raced for a long, long time. I wouldn’t say Formula 1 has got more aggressive. When I first got to Formula 1 I was racing with Fernando, who was very firm and tough to beat on track. It was no different to now I’d say.

“I think the only difference is now is that the tracks have these run off areas. When I joined we didn’t have these big run-off areas. So when you first got in, you really had to build up to the limit. You couldn’t go beyond it, go off-track and come back on.

“The thing I noticed the most, maybe around Max’s time or just before, when they started having these big run-off areas, the younger drivers were able to come in and really abuse those areas by not putting the car on grass for example.

“I think that gave them a real good cushion for bedding themselves into the sport and finding the limit. That’s where I’d say from Fernando’s time and before that, you couldn’t go beyond the limit, you were in the gravel. I would say that’s been the biggest shift. It would be great to see the old-school way come back.”

F1’s governing body the FIA is currently amending the guidelines following discussions in Mexico, with a new draft set to be made available to the drivers at next month’s Qatar Grand Prix.

“The rules are still the same as they were back in 2021, so what we saw in 2021 with myself and Max is still happening today and will continue until perhaps they make a change,” Hamilton added.

“Also the tracks, with the run-off areas don’t help. If it was gravel or grass, they wouldn’t be going all the way out there. So it will be interesting to see the development and hopefully they’ll make some changes for next year.”