Hot Topic

The rivalry between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris is fantastic for F1. There is anger, emotion, fans taking sides, particularly after the collision in Austria on Sunday. A battle like this is great for the sport because I love close, hard racing between equally matched drivers and cars. So long as the racing stays between the white lines and the tactics are hard but fair, it’s just perfect.

As a Formula 1 driver you have to think about who you are racing, what their personality is, what are their motivations. What are they thinking, even what they are not thinking!

Looking at what happened in the Red Bull Ring, let’s look at it from Max’s position. You are a 3-times World Champion, racing on your team’s home circuit, leading the race in front of sea of orange, the Dutch fans. You know that the car behind is catching you and going for the overtake.

In this situation you are going to use all your experience and race-craft to defend yourself. This means using every trick you can, how you position the car on the circuit, particularly at the entry to the key corners, and to make life as difficult as possible for the guy behind.

Max is a hard racer, we know that, so when you attack him you have to expect him to make his car very wide. Lando knows that too.

However, from my point of view you have to race between the white lines. That’s where you have to do your racing, your overtaking and develop your tactics. Once you start pushing someone outside the white lines, off the track, that’s going too far.

I know what it’s like to race against the hardest racer from my time in F1, Michael Schumacher. I had the experience of racing him in Austria when my car was carrying more fuel than his and he was challenging me, particularly into T3. Of course I used every trick I could think of, positioning my car, knowing that I have to do everything I can to stay ahead. But I also knew that if he came alongside and I turn in, we’ll have an accident.

In the old days drivers raced hard but avoided collisions in because you could easily get injured or worse. Today’s drivers know that safety is important, but their experience tells them that they can sustain damage to the car and walk away. The safety margins are so much higher thanks to the world that F1, the FIA and the teams have done, so drivers are less concerned about collisions and that drives a different set of behaviours. However, you still need to finish to get the win.

I think it’s important to remember that Formula 1 drivers are role models to the next generation of drivers, including anyone racing in other formulae, so if you start pushing each other off the track it sends the wrong message. Younger drivers will think ‘this is acceptable’.

This is why the Race Stewards have to be clear about what is and what is not acceptable, penalising drivers who force anyone off the track. That way everyone can concentrate on hard racing, but always keep in mind that it needs to be correct. It’s the right way to win.

Take Note

Silverstone is quick, a fantastic track with some high-G corners, and we have to expect a continue fight between Red Bull and McLaren, wth Mercedes and Ferrari right behind. That’s the competitive order at the moment.

Mika’s Tip

Mercedes have an all-British driver line up with Lewis Hamilton an 8-times winner at Silverstone and George Russell fresh from that unexpected win in Austria. If the huge number of fans are hoping for a home win on Sunday, they should look to Lando Norris for McLaren. He could have won in Spain and Austria, so in my opinion his second win of the season is not far away.

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