Max Verstappen urged to ‘take leaf out of Lewis Hamilton’s book’ after George Russell clash

Max Verstappen should “take a leaf out of Lewis Hamilton’s book” given his clash with George Russell in Azerbaijan, says former F1 driver Anthony Davidson.

Double world champion Verstappen currently leads the 2023 standings by six points to team-mate Sergio Perez heading into this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix, with Red Bull dominant so far this season.

Yet in the sprint race last Saturday in Azerbaijan, Verstappen collided in a first-lap tussle with Mercedes driver Russell, resulting in damage on his car and an angry outburst from the Dutchman after the race.

Davidson, who raced 24 times in Formula 1 from 2002-2008, believes Verstappen should take a look at how Hamilton dealt with in-race scenarios in his years of dominance for Mercedes - insisting that the fiery Red Bull driver should be more conservative given his points advantage in the championship.

“So back in the day like 2020, when he was really fighting the superior car of the Mercedes, I would say he would go for moves where he would take risks,” Davidson said on Sky Sports News.

“He would send the car down the inside of someone like Lewis Hamilton, because that was his one chance possibly to get in front of the Mercedes and then try and hold them up – the only chance he had really to win the race.

“But he still seems to drive sometimes, and Baku was one of these races, with that same approach.

“That was in the sprint race where we saw these scenes with him and George Russell, and he was saying: ‘Look, if you drive like that, if you send the car down the inside, then expect it in the future from me in return, because that’s how it’s going to be’.

“But I would say that’s the last thing now that Max has to just polish up, because he’s still a young driver, and he’s still getting better – which is quite worrying for the competition, because he’s so good.

“It’s the one thing he now has to fix, I would say, and learn from – take a leaf out of Lewis’ book in many ways.

Verstappen did in the end re-take third place from Russell later in the sprint race but Davidson emphasised that the double world champion did not need to take any risks amid the earlier clash.

“When Lewis was in the dominant car, he would give up a position there on track to then get it back later on anyway, because he had the car to do it,” Davidson added.

“Lewis would always see the bigger picture, play the long game, and I think that’s the only thing now that Max can just tidy up in going forward.

“There was no need to fight George quite as hard as he did into that corner early on in the sprint race, because he was going to sail past anyway with that the level of performance he has in that Red Bull.”

After missing out in Baku, Verstappen will be looking to return to winning ways this weekend in Miami. The Dutchman won the inaugural race in Florida last year.

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