Hamilton takes aim at Verstappen: 'Doesn't matter to him if Bottas is faster'

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are splitting the victories so far this season. After three races it is 2-1 in favour of the Briton, but Vitantonio Liuzzi believes that Verstappen will continue to make things very difficult for him.

Valtteri Bottas' pole position in Portugal gave him a taste of the battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, but in the race the Finn dropped back to P3. No one seems to really come close to this duo for now, whose performances are far above them on a weekly basis.

''I saw a supreme Hamilton again in Portugal, despite a difficult start. He showed once again that he can get the most out of himself and the car. Verstappen gave 110 per cent until the last lap, it was a shame he just couldn't take the fastest race lap on the last lap,'' the former Formula One driver told Autosprint.

The former Toro Rosso driver was disappointed that Red Bull Racing were not more dominant during the first races of this season. ''I expected more from them. It looked like they had the fastest car in the first two Grands Prix, but in Portimao we saw what Mercedes has in reserve."

Despite his pole, Liuzzi doesn't think we need to start keeping an eye on Bottas, nor does Hamilton in his opinion. ''Hamilton knows very well that Verstappen is his title rival, and not Bottas. Therefore, he cares little that Valtteri was faster in qualifying. He goes one-on-one with Verstappen and plays that off strategically,'' the Italian concludes.