Lewis Hamilton responds to Max Verstappen pressure talk as rivalry continues at French GP
Lewis Hamilton is looking to silence any critics this weekend as Mercedes look to bounce back from two tough weekends in Monaco and Baku, admitting he feels ‘no pressure’ from Max Verstappen heading to the French GP.
Last time out, Hamilton made a very rare mistake in the car after the race had been red-flagged due to a tyre blowout from his main title rival and championship leader Verstappen.
The seven-time world champion lined up second on the grid for the restart, but plummeted to 15th after challenging Sergio Perez for the lead, accidentally activating a button on the car’s steering wheel – which changes brake bias settings and is used to heat the front tyres.
As a result, Hamilton locked up and went straight at turn one down the escape route, finishing P15 in Baku, and despite a DNF from Verstappen, due to Hamilton’s mistake, he walked away still leading the championship.
“Max wasn’t in the race at the time so I definitely wasn’t under pressure from him,” said Hamilton.
“I don’t even count it as a mistake and I don’t even know what the mistake before that was, but I don’t feel any pressure, I feel pretty relaxed. You can’t always be perfect.
