Lewis Hamilton claimed that it is easy to see when Max Verstappen feels under pressure by the tone of his radio messages. But the Red Bull star has shut down the suggestion and insisted “I never make any mistakes.”
Following the British Grand Prix this summer, Hamilton shared his thoughts on Verstappen’s messages to Gianpiero Lambiase. The seven-time world champion said “you know he’s serious when he puts the ‘F’ in front of it” about Verstappen’s comments.
The Red Bull star had just secured the victory, with Lando Norris and Hamilton joining him on the podium. Later in the season, at the United States Grand Prix, Verstappen lambasted his engineer as he struggled with brake problems while Hamilton was closing in.
However, Verstappen has now issued his response to the claim that he feels under pressure during races.
“[At Austin], I was just not happy with what was going on and I needed full focus just to concentrate on the braking to be consistent,” Verstappen explained.
“But, it’s good that they [other drivers] might think like that. But, for me, I’m never… Well, even if I am under pressure I’m not making mistakes anyway. So, it’s fine.”
Verstappen had such a large gap over all his rivals this year that he didn’t worry about looking over his shoulder. Sergio Perez finished second in the Drivers’ Championship but still 290 points behind his Red Bull team-mate. Lewis Hamilton secured third spot, ahead of Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc.
However, Verstappen does not believe that Hamilton and Mercedes were his strongest challenger, instead opting for Lando Norris and McLaren.
“We were the only team that was really consistent,” he told the Talking Bull podcast. “Behind us was really up and down, it was one team second and then another team, so that’s where the battle was quite close.
“It will all depend on how much they improve in the winter time, but in terms of which one was the most impressive behind us from where they started to where they ended was definitely McLaren. So, it looks like they might be very strong next year.”
