“I look at the shoulder nudge”– Verstappen claims it was a sign of intense fight

“I look at the shoulder nudge”– Jos Verstappen claims that the mentioned incident is the sign of increasing heat between the two drivers.

Last week, Red Bull sealed its first victory of the season after an incredible performance in Imola. On the weekend, both Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen appeared to brush their shoulder against each other.

It looked accidental, but for Max’s father- Jos Verstappen, it is a sign of rising fight between the two drivers, as claimed by him in recent Instagram live with the Ziggo sport.

“You don’t know how it will go, of course, but if I look at the shoulder nudge they gave each other after qualifying at Imola, I think we can expect something this year,” said the former Grand Prix driver.

“They are both men that don’t want to be outdone by the other. Neither of them will let the other push them aside, especially if it will be more and more about the title this season. I think it’s going to be an intense and great year.”

Mixed feelings

Verstappen Snr. feels that the possibility of winning every race this season has kept him in a mixed position, but in the end is glad for his son to be with Red Bull this year.

“The fact that we can win every single race, in theory, gives more peace of mind I would say, as we know that Max is in the right place at Red Bull. But yeah, at the same time it does bring extra pressure,” he said

The former F1 driver also talked about Mercedes putting weight on Red Bull’s chances to win the title, but he says that it is an overestimation, and every other circuit would change the favourite.

“Toto Wolff keeps saying that Red Bull has the better car and Christian Horner, in turn, says that Mercedes has the better one. But I think the truth is somewhere in the middle.

“At every circuit the favourite differs, depending on what suits a particular car. But that creates extra pressure as well.”

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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