Robert Doornbos thinks that Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton will definitely hit each other again in 2021. Last week the two men said they would race each other with respect, but the Ziggo Sport analyst suspects that as tempers flare and we get later in the season, more risks will be taken.

Track limits play a major role

"You just had five track limits on the circuit," Doornbos is a little surprised. The current season is still relatively young, but Verstappen has already had to deal with track limits three times at decisive moments. In Bahrain he was forced to give his position back to Lewis Hamilton after overtaking off the track, in qualifying at Portimao he had to hand in his first time in Q3 and a day later his fastest lap was also taken away and with it the extra World Championship point.

Verstappen reacted immediately by saying that there were no track limits at the exit of turn fourteen. This turned out to be incorrect, as the FIA had indicated on Saturday morning that they would be added. "He actually has no point. It's in the regulations and everyone has to follow the rules. It's nice that he says it, but it doesn't change anything," he said of Verstappen in Crashing in the Kitchen.

Helmut Marko is also a bit fed up with it by now and therefore demands that the FIA makes changes. Gravel next to the kerbs is one possibility, because then a driver knows he loses time when he leaves the asphalt with four tyres. The next Grand Prix is in Spain, but at Ziggo Sport they are already looking at the weekend that follows:"We are looking forward to Monaco where you have no track limits. Then you're right in the wall", Doornbos said.

Verstappen vs Hamilton on track

At the press conference on Sunday, Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton spoke highly of each other. They indicated they will treat each other with respect on the track and that in terms of on-track battles, they are not going to make it any more exciting than it has already become. "I say love. There is a lot of respect back and forth, which is nice. But there's going to come a time when it goes wrong. Imolait almost could have gone wrong. You're talking about centimetres. You cannot plan for that."

Doornbos further states that not too much value should be attached to the words of the numbers one and two of the world championship."It's just what you say to the press. You are in the third Grand Prix and you still have twenty to go. When it comes to a championship, it's eat or be eaten. If Lewis has to go off the track for that, then Lewis is really going off the track. Then they really hit each other. We'll come back to it later in the season."