“To beat Lewis, Max Verstappen needs to do a perfect job each weekend,” says former two time World Champion

“To beat Lewis, Max Verstappen needs to do a perfect job each weekend,” says former two time World Champion

Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen finished second at the Portugal GP, and secured his third consecutive podium this season. However, the Dutch driver missed out on the extra point for the fastest lap, after exceeding track limits at Turn 14.

Moreover, the 22-year old racer’s lap time in Q3 was deleted, which could have handed him a pole position in Portugal. Lewis Hamilton took the victory, and extended his lead at the top to 8 points.

Two time F1 champion, Mika Hakkinen believes that Max Verstappen should avoid making small mistakes if he is to win the championship.

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“One area of frustration for Max has been track-limit penalties. He should have won in Bahrain and could have taken pole position and set the fastest lap in Portugal,” Hakkinen wrote in his Unibet column.

“But each time, he put all four wheels over the line at some point on the circuit. It’s so easy to do, but you cannot afford to make small mistakes like that. To beat Lewis, Max needs to do a perfect job each weekend,” he added.

Lewis loves challenges: Hakkinen

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Max Verstappen surpassed Lewis Hamilton after the safety car restart. However, that advantage did not last long, as Hamilton regained his spot in just four laps. He eventually surpassed Valtteri Bottas and claimed the victory in Portugal.

Hakkinen believes that Lewis Hamilton loves these kind of challenges, and Verstappen will have to be at his best to challenge the seven time champion.

“It only took Lewis four laps to recover his position from Max. He then chased Valtteri down, moving into the lead on lap 20. Lewis loves that kind of challenge,” Hakkinen explained.

“Red Bull and Honda have done a fantastic job, but Mercedes have recovered quickly after a less competitive start to the year. One of the strengths of Mercedes is their ability to react, so although I think the Portimao circuit suited their cars slightly more than the Red Bulls, Lewis and Valtteri really have an exceptionally strong technical team supporting them,” he added.

Also Read: Portuguese GP: Lewis Hamilton’s Car Setup helped him outperform Valtteri Bottas