'Hamilton does this on purpose because he knows: Verstappen is a serious threat'

Former Formula One driver Damon Hill sees the threat of Max Verstappen becoming concrete in the frustration that surfaced with Lewis Hamilton at Monaco. Speaking to Nathalie Pinkham and Tom Clarkson at F1 Nation he interprets Hamilton's statements during the race weekend in the principality and contrasts them with Max Verstappen's media display.

After the Grand Prix on the Monte Carlo street circuit, Hamilton stressed he did not want to reignite his exchange of taunts with Verstappen, where earlier in the weekend he made several loaded remarks to his competitors at Red Bull.

Hill labelled Hamilton's comments earlier in the week as a sign that the Briton is definitely getting hot under the collar. Hill: "Drivers are more mature than we give them credit for sometimes, but Lewis does play mind games, even though he says he doesn’t. He makes the odd comment every now and then."

The Briton continued: "I feel like Lewis is deliberately stoking the fire a little bit because he knows it's getting serious."

Verstappen does things differently

With Verstappen, on the other hand, Hill sees a contrasting situation. According to the journalist, the Dutchman is deliberately keeping himself at a distance, and with success. "Max has kept himself in his little bubble and not letting anything distract him. His focus is quite good. It’s very easy to be derailed by journalists’ questions but he’s just not going there. I think he’s been playing it quite well."