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They had already rubbed wheels going down the Wellington Straight after Lewis had briefly nosed ahead, only to be pushed back and then dealt with in Max’s customary uncompromising style going into the Brooklands/Luffield/Woodcote complex. The arguments will rage for years to come over who bore the blame for the first of them on the opening lap of the British GP at Silverstone, soon after Max had dominated with wins in France, Styria and Austria. There was also the loss of big points in Hungary, after the first-corner collision triggered by Valtteri Bottas left him fighting to an eventual ninth place with a seriously impaired car.Īnd then, of course, there were the controversial collisions with Lewis… At a stroke, 25 points went down the pan, though he was then lucky that Lewis’s error with ‘brake magic’ sent those points to team mate Sergio Perez instead. He was dominating the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with absolute ease, just as he had in Monaco, when that left rear Pirelli deflated and put him into the wall. And but for some seriously bad luck, Max would already have been world champion long before the circus got to Yas Marina. READ MORE: ‘We knew he’d be world champion one day’ – Former team mates and fellow champions on Max Verstappen's maiden titleīut though Lewis also won in Portugal and Spain, Max did so easily in Imola and Monaco, then France, Styria and Austria. In Barcelona, he was forced wide for the very same reason.
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In Imola, Lewis was probably being optimistic and had to rattle over the inside kerb to avoid contact. The markers continued at Imola and Barcelona, where he twice forced his rival off track in the opening corner. Instead, he settled for a disgruntled second place. Had he followed his own instincts then, he would almost certainly have regained the lead and won. Never one to give anything up voluntarily, Max reluctantly did as instructed by his team and handed the lead back to Lewis, but how he must have regretted obeying team advice to wait instead of immediately counter-attacking. In Bahrain Max chose to attack Lewis just where his move presented the greatest risk of sliding all four wheels off the track, and that is precisely what happened. Where the RB16B for much of the year could be dialled in quickly from track to track, the Mercedes was a diva who frequently rejected her suitor’s set-up overtures. He, rather than Lewis, had the perfect weapon. After five years of impatient waiting, he knew that he had something with which he could do much more than stealing the occasional victory amid Mercedes’ domination. Red Bull’s updated RB16B was the superior car, and it looked like a title-winner from the get-go in Max’s hugely capable hands. The work that Honda had done on their RA621H engine was also significant. It was already clear that the new rules, especially the reduction of the floorplan, had hurt Mercedes much more than it had Red Bull, perhaps because they seemed to favour high-rake cars. We saw that right from the season opener in Bahrain. READ MORE: Brilliant Verstappen claims maiden title after victory in Abu Dhabi season finale following late Safety Car drama But sometimes it painted him into a corner. His relentless will to win, to fight at all times, saw that message repeated continuously. But Lewis was the king and thus the one on whom the young pretender’s attention was most focused. Lewis, of course, had long realised this, as had the likes of former Red Bull team mate Daniel Ricciardo, Kimi Raikkonen, Valtteri Bottas and Charles Leclerc. Which is just as well, because although he had the best car in the field for most of the season, his attacking style at times ensured that taking his first World Championship, and stealing the crown away from such a seasoned warrior as Lewis Hamilton, wasn't as straightforward as it could have been.Īll season he seemed to spend his time laying down markers to the reigning champion, relaying time and again the same message: “I’m not going to be easy.”