Martin Brundle surprised as he spots Lewis Hamilton's F1 plan for Max Verstappen
Martin Brundle thinks he knows exactly what Lewis Hamilton was doing when he played down Max Verstappen's achievements.
The Brit took a swipe at the Dutchman's success when speaking to the Italian edition of Sky Sports ahead of the Italian Grand Prix. Though Verstappen is dominating the sport right now, Hamilton attributed that more to the strength of the Red Bull team rather than his Formula 1 rival.
"I'm no more impressed than when Michael [Schumacher] was leading, when Sebastian [Vettel] was leading when Kimi [Raikkonen] was driving, when Fernando [Alonso] was winning – it's just the same," the seven-time world champion declared.
"I think the [Red Bull] team as a whole is one of the strongest, they're firing on all cylinders right now. The car is incredible, the drivers are doing an amazing job, very consistent, the pit crew is doing a great job, the mechanics are doing a good job, strategy is doing a good job – on point, you can't fault them.
"In my personal opinion, all my team-mates have been stronger than the team-mates Max has had – Jenson [Button], Fernando, George [Russell], Valtteri [Bottas], Nico [Rosberg]. I've had so many. These guys have all been very, very strong, very consistent – and Max has not raced against anyone like that."
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Hamilton's words took many people by surprise, including Sky UK pundit Brundle. But when giving his take on what the Mercedes man had said, he expressed his belief that it is part of a tactic from Hamilton to downplay Verstappen's achievements to gain a mental advantage.
He said: "That's Lewis' opinion and he very firmly put it out there. He's not going to give Max an ounce of oxygen, or anything, to pick him up. I'm surprised just how hard he was.
"Of course, Lewis has had strong team-mates but I wouldn't write off the likes of Daniel Ricciardo and Sergio Perez, who Max has had alongside him. They are world-class racing drivers. Lewis just doesn't want to give anything away, does he?"
On Verstappen's achievements, Brundle added: "To win at the rate Lewis has done, 103 victories, and the rate Max is, and to keep the mental aspect going every week in different tracks and weather conditions, is extraordinary. You can't be anything other than incredibly impressed by what Verstappen is doing. How many points has Perez scored in that time?"
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