Martin Brundle believes that the clash between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton was simply a coincidence. According to the former Formula 1 driver, the Dutch Red Bull Racing driver thought that his big World Championship competitor would withdraw from the fight, while Hamilton himself thought that he has done that often enough already in 2021.
Hamilton leaves his car in place
"I think Max made a couple of decisions, one conscious and subconscious, in that he thought he'd closed Hamilton up, up against the pit wall, I think he thought Lewis would back out of that, Lewis has backed out of quite a lot of things this year so far," Brundle analysed for employer Sky Sports.
However, in front of 140,000 fans during his home race at the Silverstone circuit, Hamilton was not about to do that again. "Lewis didn't back off and I think Lewis had made the decision that he's done that too much this year", the Formula 1 commentator says.
The rivals are pushing each other to the limit this year and that includes a lot of aggression on the track. "We saw it in Barcelona in particular but in Imola earlier on in the year, and even on Saturday in the sprint race so it's super aggressive driving both of them yesterday. Max is very aggressive on the track, which we love him for and why he's such a great racing driver, we have got one of the all-time classic duels here on our hands sort of Prost vs Senna, Schumacher vs Hill, Mansell vs Piquet, so many of them over the decades", Brundle says.