Massa: "Maybe Hamilton would've been better to release the brake"

The Italian Grand Prix has sparked yet another major talking point in Formula 1. Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, the two rivals for the 2021 World Championship, collided out on the Monza circuit which resulted in a DNF for them both. Similar to the incident in Silverstone, this has created a healthy debate on who is to blame. 

Toto Wolff suggested that Verstappen made a tactical foul because he knew he wouldn't have been able to catch the Brit if he had let him overtake. Meanwhile, Christian Horner believes it was a racing incident and expects the stewards to find it difficult to pin the blame on one driver. 

Meanwhile, one of Hamilton's title rivals from the past Felipe Massa weighs in on the debate with the Sky Sports analyst team including Johnny Herbert and Paul Di Resta. 

The debate

"They are fighting for the Championship, and it shows they will not give any spaces. No centimetres. I would stay 50/50. In my view, the sausage kerb, which is part of the track, threw him up. Maybe Lewis would've been better to release the brake," Massa said. 

Herbert asks: "Why couldn't have Max bailed out and thought this is a big risk maybe I should pull out?" and Massa says that's not in Verstappen's style of driving. But Herbert continues to disagree with Massa. 

"The other one he would have been next to him. No, he was not off the track. He was not off the track. He was in the white line," Massa said. At this point, Herbert says this battle is an example of "banger racing" in Formula 1. He highlights that "one guy has been avoiding incidents, and that's Lewis Hamilton." 

Di Resta supports Massa: "It's 50/50... it's racing. This is what sport is about. I honestly don't think this is the last time we are going to see wheels touching. This sets up the championship where none of them are going to give each other space."