Lewis Hamilton hailed in bold Michael Schumacher claim amid Max Verstappen battle
Lewis Hamilton is fighting Max Verstappen for the 2021 F1 title.
F1: Verstappen and Hamilton verbally spar
Lewis Hamilton has been clean in his fight with Max Verstappen so far, according to former F1 driver and broadcaster Luciano Burti. The Mercedes star is eight points clear of his Dutch rival with the summer break upon us.
The last two races have seen Hamilton leapfrog Verstappen in controversial circumstances.
The 36-year-old collided with the Red Bull driver at the British Grand Prix sending him out of the race.
Hamilton received a 10-second time penalty but went on to win the race after catching and passing Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Red Bull protested that but the FIA threw their appeal out and the result stood.
JUST IN: Red Bull chief Marko lays into Hamilton with Vettel penalty claim
“Regarding the fight of Hamilton and Verstappen, I think it remains neat, but that's my opinion,” Burti told the Brazilian branch of Motorsport.com.
The former F1 driver also believes Hamilton is a cleaner driver than the likes of Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna.
He added: “By the way I think when you compare Hamilton with other great champions, like Senna and Schumacher, he is the cleanest of these guys.”
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Meanwhile, Red Bull chief Helmut Marko believes F1 need to look at the way they impose penalties.
That was after Sebastian Vettel was disqualified from the Hungarian Grand Prix for not having enough fuel left.
“Vettel was disqualified because there was not enough fuel left in the tank. So we have to talk about the relation of the penalties,” Marko told Speedweek on penalties in F1.
“It is clear why Vettel almost ran out of petrol, because a normal race had been calculated and then he simply used more in the fight with Ocon – no driver saves petrol in this situation.
“Where is the relation there compared to Hamilton’s offence?
“Then there is Hamilton’s statement about Fernando Alonso’s dangerous driving. [Alonso] drove sensationally, defended optimally, and then this statement from someone who shoots out a competitor a race before.”
F1 returns from its summer break with the Belgian Grand Prix at the end of August.
Hamilton and Verstappen will resume their battle with just eight points between them as we are almost halfway through the season.