Brundle: 'Max and Lewis appear to be the calmest members of their team'

Martin Brundle thinks it is very special that Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton can perform so consistently and at such a high level when the pressure is on. The former Formula 1 driver believes the two title rivals are 'ruthless' and won't give each other an inch.

"You may have often heard me say that two championship protagonists usually raise their games to an altogether higher plane, they find an overdrive gear with which they can maximise every press of a pedal and turn of the wheel, on every corner and each lap," Brundle wrote in his column for Sky Sports. The fact that Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas are several tenths short of the level of Verstappen and Hamilton's performance is a testament to their inability to match them.

It was no different at the Losail International Circuit last week. "Under the floodlights of Qatar, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen appeared to be in a different category of racing such was their relentless pace out front in pursuit of critical world championship points. Those two drivers remarkably appear to be the calmest members of their team from time to time." the F1 commentator was referring to the heated exchanges between the likes of Christian Horner and Toto Wolff.

Hamilton back in the simulator

According to Brundle, the Mercedes team's performance in the final phase of the season is impressive. "There can be no doubt that Hamilton and Mercedes have raised their game at a pivotal point of the championship. Lewis has found renewed trust in the factory simulator and works late into the night at the track as he impressively finds new motivation for an eighth title despite his relative age, trophy warehouse, and significant bank balance", he concluded his account.