The 2021 title battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen featured some tense moments towards the end of the season.
Verstappen had a comfortable lead over Hamilton by being consistent, but the seven-time world champion had begun to reel in his advantage in the final races.
Hamilton won four races in a row by the time they reached the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, and another victory would put the pair level on points heading into the final round of the season in Abu Dhabi.
The Dutchman was determined to win one over his title rival, and visiting a track that was brand new on the calendar provided the perfect opportunity for him to increase the points margin in his favour at the final race.
Except everything would boil over in the race, with Hamilton and Verstappen clashing on track, Toto Wolff throwing a headset, and another heated moment between the Dutchman and Hamilton’s long-time trainer, according to Verstappen’s performance coach, Bradley Scanes, on the High Performance podcast.
Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty ImagesAngela Cullen left furious after Max Verstappen’s clash with Lewis Hamilton in Saudi Arabia
Hamilton was already giving Verstappen extra margin if he tried an overtake at this stage of the title battle, having come close to colliding in Brazil.
When Verstappen attempted to overtake him for the lead into the tight Turn 1 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, both drivers ran off track. Race Control instructed Verstappen to give the position back to Hamilton, but had not told Mercedes before giving the message to Red Bull.
This meant Mercedes were unaware that Verstappen was about to slow down at 180mph along the back straight between Turns 26 and 27, and the pair collided. It caused a frenzy in the garages, while it also generated a frosty atmosphere between the two title rivals in the post-race cool-down room.
“Our lowest point in 2021 was after Saudi. We hadn’t won for four races in a row and Lewis is back equal on points. Saudi was a bit of a blow-up because it was a new track, and it was super hot. There were three red flags, three incidents between Max and Lewis. We’ve gone into the cool-down room, so Lewis P1 and Max P2,” said Scanes.
“I remember Angela [Cullen] who was Lewis’ performance coach, me and her are very good friends now and we’ve worked together in the last couple of years, but I remember her not shouting but forcefully saying something like ‘You’re going to get someone killed out there’ or something like that and them two just went into a different room.
“I can’t remember who is P3, but they were just sitting there thinking, ‘What is going on between Lewis and Max?’ So after that race, we needed to calm everything down.”
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Max Verstappen ramped up tension with Lewis Hamilton during 2021
It’s no secret that both Verstappen and Hamilton were playing mind tricks with each other both on and off the track during the relentless title battle in 2021.
Verstappen earned a fine of €50,000 (£45,000) for entering Parc Ferme and touching a rival’s car unauthorised in Brazil, but Scanes says it was a premeditated move to deflect attention away from Red Bull’s struggles.
Scanes: “Brazil is a good example where Max went behind the Mercedes rear wing and gave it a good feel. That was measured, he knew he was going to get a 50k fine and there would be no impact on track.”
Humphrey: “Had you spoken about it beforehand?”
Scanes: “Not me personally, but for sure within the team it was discussed.”
Humphrey: “But it was just a way to ramp up the tension in the Mercedes garage?”
Scanes: “Yeah, even if nothing happened. There was a change though, for the last two races they couldn’t run that particular wing so that was helpful in its own sense because they ran away in that Brazil race. But if nothing happened, that would’ve shifted the focus in the media.”
Verstappen’s gamesmanship was ultimately rewarded when the stewards further investigated Hamilton’s rear wing and found it was non-compliant with the regulations because the DRS slot gap opened more than the allowed 85mm.
Mercedes was forced to run without it for the rest of the season, although it didn’t stop Hamilton from charging through the field after a back-of-the-grid start and winning the race.