Lewis Hamilton 'May Wish He Backed Out' Against Max Verstappen, Says F1 Director

A Formula One big boss made a shocking claim about Lewis Hamilton.

On Sunday, Red Bull star Max Verstappen had his revenge as he beat the Mercedes talisman Hamilton at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola.

In an intense race on the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari track, Verstappen went from third place on the grid to the lead spot by Turn 2.

Since then, the Dutchman dominated the race en route to a sensational victory.

Sharing his thoughts on the growing rivalry between Verstappen and Hamilton, F1’s motorsport managing director Ross Brawn took a subtle dig at the seven-time world champion.

According to Brawn, Hamilton may have been looking back at his defeat now, thinking he should’ve “backed out” from the race.

“The fight into the first corner at the start, between [Max] Verstappen and [Lewis] Hamilton, was significant and set the tone for the race,” Brawn said during his regular post-race column on Formula 1’s official website. “I believe it was Max’s corner. He had the line, he had the place on the track. Lewis in retrospect may wish he backed out of it, especially considering the conditions.”

“He would have been mindful of Sergio Perez as well, who was just behind, in what was a Red Bull pincer movements of sorts–and he was clearly trying to look for space where neither could get to him,” the director added.

Verstappen, indeed, had endured another tough match against his nemesis at the said Grand Prix. It can be recalled that he came close to blowing it all up following the red flag due to Valtteri Bottas and George Russell’s huge crash at Turn 2.

The 23-year-old lit up the rears which almost resulted to a terrible spin.

Reflecting on his first major win of the season, Verstappen bared that apart from perfect timing, it was also because of teamwork.

“We won because we made the right calls with tyres at the right time and the team managed everything well in these conditions,” Verstappen said after the race. “With the tyres degrading, choosing the right moment to go onto slicks wasn’t easy, but we got it right. I had a little moment at the re-start trying to warm up the tyres with some throttle but luckily we didn’t spin.”

“We still have to work hard to improve because it’s very close, but for now I’m very happy with the result."