Experts expect current F1 title battle now to intensify
Jul.29 - Formula 1 is relishing the intense head-to-head between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen in 2021.
Their rivalry for this year's world championship came to a contentious crescendo at Silverstone, when Verstappen was briefly hospitalised after a 51G crash following high-speed contact with his Mercedes challenger.
Nico Rosberg, who won a similarly-intense battle with Hamilton in 2016, calls it just the latest "battle of the generations" in F1 history.
"It reminds me of Senna against Schumacher, Schumacher against Alonso, Alonso against Vettel," he told Sky Deutschland.
"And we'll see more of it, I'm sure. Both of them will maintain their level of aggression, with neither giving in at all."
Red Bull top official Dr Helmut Marko agrees that "unfortunately" the Senna-Prost comparison is appropriate.
"But there are still a lot of races and I hope that the emotions on both sides will subside," he said.
"Realistically, it does seem to be developing in that direction," Marko admitted, referring again to the notorious Senna-Prost battle of decades past.
1996 world champion Damon Hill wonders of the Verstappen-Hamilton situation: "Is the relationship irreparable? Are they both at war now?"
"What we want is a fair, tough, sporting confrontation," he added.
Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher, however, does not believe the intensity of the rivalry will settle in any way in the wake of the British GP controversy.
"Max is no coward - he will not take his foot off the gas," he insisted. "The only thing I can imagine is that he will look a little more in the mirrors."
Schumacher also told Bild newspaper: "This psychological war began very early and was started by Red Bull. It will now come to a head.
"I think what we will see now is both sides trying again and again to disrupt the other."
Former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone thinks these types of battles are "always good" for the sport's popularity.
"The fans want to see it," he told f1-insider.com.
"Why did everyone get up in the middle of the night to watch Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier? Because they expected a tough fight and something spectacular.
"It's no different in Formula 1," Ecclestone added.
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We can be thankful safety is as good as it is today. Racing "wheel to wheel" in an open wheeled series isn't for amateurs or hot heads. Amazing racing moments are rare and fleeting. Enjoy!
If Max's car had gone airborne and thru the fence, killing multiple spectators, would you still have called it an "amazing racing moment?"
Hamster wins the Nobel prize next nodoubt
Ahead of this weekend's Grand Prix in Budapest, Hamilton posted a message on his Instagram story in which he described as "cowardly" recently imposed legislation in Hungary, which bans the depiction of homosexuality to young people.
"To all in this beautiful country Hungary. Ahead of the Grand Prix this weekend, I want to share my support for those affected by the government's anti-LGBTQ+ law," wrote Hamilton.
"It is unacceptable, cowardly and misguiding for those in power suggest such a law. Everyone deserves to have the freedom to be themselves, no matter who they love or how they identify.
I some how doubt he'd make the same statement in Bahrain, easy to do so in Hungary,he chooses his battles well russia/bahrain keep it zipped, hypocrite , but Poland is a lot worse on the LGBTQ+ community than Hungary .and yet he says nothing....
If Lewis said the same thing about Saudi Arabia, I suspect MBS would dispatch his "bone saw team" again.
I'll be clear. Crashes are not amazing racing moments. Wheel to wheel racing is amazing. However, your hypothesis is merely sensationalism because the car didn't go through or over any barriers and no one was killed. You can "what if" yourself into an entirely different reality. After the fact, I prefer to understand what DID happen, not what COULD have happened. Be a fan long enough and you learn "racing luck" wins and loses as many races and championships as skill, machinery, and team work. Max was both lucky and unlucky at Silverstone, and Lewis was extraordinarily lucky at Imola and Silverstone with red flags giving him very fortunate finishes at both venues. Love this battle and hope it can stay tight for all of our enjoyment. I could do without the Team Principal's Soap Opera.
Fact is Lewis caused a high speed crash that could easily have been much, much worse. And ten seconds is a woefully inadequate penalty.
Can't change the past. Don't know the future. Live in the present. Goals are more powerful than regrets. There will always be what "could" have happened vs what actually happened. Peace.
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