"If I was Verstappen I wouldn't have told Hamilton what I thought about it"

The rivalry between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton is far from over. The tension has been at an all-time high since the British Grand Prix, and is likely to run higher in the second half of the season.

That's the opinion of former Formula 1 driver and Le Mans winner Bertrand Gachot, who is perhaps best known for a low point in his career: In 1991, he drove for the then-new Jordan team, and also won the 24 Hours of Le Mans that year. However, that prosperity came to an abrupt end when he was jailed for six months for a traffic dispute in which he sprayed a taxi driver with tear gas. He was replaced by none other than Michael Schumacher, who made his Formula 1 debut.

'It has to get worse first, like Senna and Prost'

The former driver had his say on the high tensions between Hamilton and Verstappen on the Beyond the Gridpodcast. "If I was Verstappen I wouldn't have said anything," says the Frenchman about the aftermath of the incident at Silverstone. "I wouldn't have told Hamilton what I thought about it, and said 'we'll talk it out on the track'. But that's easy to say."

Gachot thinks tensions will rise even higher before the end of this season. "These guys are the best out there, and in the fight for the championship they are willing to do anything. It has to get worse before it gets better, like with Senna and Prost back then. But that is the beauty of the sport, to see who will make more or less mistakes", concludes Gachot.