Michael Bleekemolen has given his opinion on Lewis Hamilton, saying he is afraid of Max Verstappen more than the other way around.
The title race between Hamilton and Verstappen took another twist at the Turkish GP. Verstappen crossed the line in second place, while Hamilton endured another frustrating race after some miscommunication with his team.
The Mercedes driver finished fifth, and surrendered his WDC lead to Verstappen. The Dutchman now leads Hamilton by six points, and is now the favourite for the title.
Bleekemolen gave his opinion on Hamilton, saying the seven-time world champion is more scared of Verstappen than he is scared of Hamilton.
“I’m sure Hamilton is more afraid of Verstappen than the other way around,” Bleekemolen told GP Blog.
“Every time we think on tracks like this that Red Bull has no chance, but Verstappen always manages to surprise. So let’s hope for an exciting race where Mercedes and Red Bull are close.”
Battles and wars
Bleekemolen also talked about the Hamilton-Sergio Perez duel that was the highlight of the race. He praised the Mexican for his hard and clean racing, and highlighted the difference in the line of thinking of the drivers involved.
“Pérez was defending great there, which of course provided a spectacle,” he continued.
“But that is of course what a second driver is for. He just wanted to show that he is still part of the Red Bull team.
“On the other hand, with the world championship in mind, Lewis didn’t dare take the full risk. In that respect it was a bit of everything.”
Hamilton did get past Perez and go into the podium places, but he ended up going down to fifth at the end of the race, after Mercedes called him in a bit too late.
“Of course it was late. On the other hand, Carlos Sainz that going in too early was not the solution either,” he added.
“He didn’t make any progress with his change, which of course woke up other teams. It remains difficult to make the right decision with these weather conditions.”
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