In an Emilia Romagna GP weekend where Verstappen was in front, Hamilton endured one of his toughest grands prix since joining Mercedes , qualifying outside the top 10 to finish 13th.
That performance was in stark contrast to what we experienced last year, when Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton battled back and forth for victories during a sometimes tense season.
In a column on Verstappen’s official website, his father Jos made it clear that he liked seeing his son lap Hamilton.
“Max had a great weekend at Imola,” Verstappen Sr. wrote. “I saw him unbelievably strong. He didn’t make a single mistake, he was solid and he had everything completely under control.”
“Red Bull clearly took a step in the right direction. Of course we knew the car would improve in Italy, but with the weather conditions it was difficult to make a comparison. We can conclude that it is stronger now.”
He added: “Honestly, I enjoyed seeing Max lap Hamilton, after everything that happened last year. Hamilton really struggled, while his teammate Russell seemed more balanced. It’s not often that you have the chance to lap a Mercedes.
Jos Verstappen’s comments about dubbing Hamilton come after Red Bull motorsports adviser Helmut Marko also took fire from the fallen tree.
Speaking to Sky after the Imola race, he referenced rumors over the winter that Hamilton might be about to retire: “Maybe I should have done it last year.”
However, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was more diplomatic, saying he didn’t much care if Verstappen lapped Hamilton.
Asked if it was a significant moment, Horner said: “No, not really. Obviously Lewis didn’t have a great weekend, but we were very focused on our race and just trying to get maximum points.
“Obviously it happened, but at the time we were looking at the clouds thinking if it would rain in the last part of the race or not. We were more focused on that.”
Mercedes director Toto Wolff has suggested that Verstappen lapping Hamilton could come out in the following season of Drive to Survive.
“Netflix scene, I think, right?” he commented. “In the end, I’m the person in charge of this team, so I also have to take criticism for the fact that we’re not performing at the moment. It’s part of my job.”
“We’ve won eight titles in a row, but we’ve started extremely poorly this season. Part of the job is to get praised and then criticized. That’s business.”
Additional reporting by Luke Smith and Christian Nimmervoll
