© Jiri Krenek for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Damon Hill thinks Max Verstappen will have to go into the Belgian Grand Prix thinking “I need to win again”, while Lewis Hamilton can afford to do some “calculation”.
1996 F1 champion Damon Hill says he believes a fast circuit like Spa could lead to another close encounter between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
“It’s another fast circuit like Silverstone,” the Briton said on the F1 Nation podcast.
“They’ve already shown they’re not afraid to tangle at high speed, but Spa’s a whole other level of risk. It is a concern.
“I think if I was [FIA race director] Michael Masi, and I’d be in the drivers’ briefing for the weekend, I would be saying, ‘Listen guys, respect this place. It’s one of the fastest tracks we go to. We do not want to have any nasty episodes’.
“Of course, we have had some nasty episodes not so long ago, in the F2 races. There is extra risk, especially if it’s wet.
“They’ve had plenty of issues recently with the rain, but wet races at Spa are not for the faint-hearted.”
When suggested that Verstappen might consider even P2 to be a great result, if it means avoiding a risky situation similar to the one that happened at the British Grand Prix, Hill said he believes this will not be the case.
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“It’s not is it because it means the title is slipping away. He will not be looking at this weekend and thinking ‘I need to score points’.
“He will be looking at this weekend thinking ‘I need to win again. I need to make sure Lewis doesn’t win’.
“That’s the only way he’s going to become world champion this year, so it’s high pressure.”
Ultimately Hill says Hamilton is approaching the race from a much better position.
“He’s got a little bit of a margin, hasn’t he? It’s ebbed and flowed throughout the year. You have to look at your situation as it arises and do that calculation.
“I can imagine Lewis thinking ‘Putting myself in a position where, if I am second, passing Max might be a little too risky’. I can imagine he might go for a second place if he had absolutely had to.
“But we are right to expect it is going to be an absolutely blinding race between these two between now and the end of the season.”
