Hamilton "learned more" about Verstappen than all other F1 races
Lewis Hamilton says he “learned a lot” about Formula 1 title rival Max Verstappen in their 2021 Spanish Grand Prix battle, adding “perhaps more than all the other races together”.
Hamilton and Verstappen went wheel-to-wheel for the fourth time in four events so far this season, with the Red Bull driver seizing the lead from his Mercedes rival with an aggressive move at the first corner of the Barcelona race.
After he recovered to score a third victory of the season in a charging drive to pull off Mercedes’ audacious two-stop strategy, Hamilton said he had "made sure" to give Verstappen space to avoid a clash in the first corner incident.
He also outlined his thoughts on their fight for the rest of the race.
“I’m continuing to love this battle we are having,” said Hamilton. “I didn’t know whether we would be able to follow them as closely as we did in the end.
“Obviously, Turn 1, the start was not ideal and we are going to have to review it and see how we can do better in the future. But as soon as we got passed in Turn 1, I was like, ‘OK, switch into a different mode’. It was actually a really good day.
“I learned a lot about Max today, perhaps more than all the other races put together. This has been a good one in that sense and great, great team work from all of us.
“We were here until late most evenings discussing strategy. We had all the bases covered in that respect. Of course, it just meant that I had to do the job on track. Coming back from 20-odd seconds wasn’t easy but I think it was the right one in the end.”
When asked to elaborate on what he meant regarding learning about Verstappen during their contest, Hamilton said: “When you are with people on track you get to see different things and watch closely.
“Obviously I was following relatively closely and I learned a lot about his car and how he uses it. So, it was a good race in that respect.”
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff explained that he had no issue with Verstappen’s aggression at the start of the race.
“Our two tried to help each other off the line,” he said of Hamilton’s decision to stick to the left-hand side of the track after leaving the grid, which gave Verstappen the chance to make his move on the inside of Turn 1. “That's why you're the loser on the outside, of course.
“The manoeuvre was hard, but not out of the norm. That's why it's ok. They didn't touch each other. At least we didn't have any loss of downforce and we didn't lose any part.”
Share Or Save This Story
Who is Kimi Antonelli, F1 sprint polesitter at just 18?
Why Bottas has the edge over Perez in 2026 F1 return race
What if Red Bull solved its second-car problem with a paint job?
Lewis Hamilton: ‘I towed Charles the whole time’ and ended up 0.5s slower
Why "dangerous" Hamilton-Lawson incident in Azerbaijan GP practice hasn't led to change
Lewis Hamilton and Fred Vasseur recall GP2 title and 'most impressive race ever', 20 years on
Thomas Annunziata wins ARCA title on tiebreaker after clashing with teammate Bollman
Oscar Piastri: I need a tow bar to hook onto Mercedes to fight for Baku win
Carson Hocevar, Ryan Blaney trade niceties a week after Bristol fight
"We are going to FIA": Grasser appeal rejected - no DTM champion at finale?
How George Russell claimed his career-best pole margin in F1 Azerbaijan GP qualifying
How the chase to catch Mercedes is unfolding
What we learned from Thursday practice at the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan GP
A look at McLaren and Audi's Baku F1 updates
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments