Max Verstappen responds to Lewis Hamilton mind games claim

Max Verstappen has refuted a claim that he used psychological games in his fierce F1 title battle with rival Lewis Hamilton during the 2021 season.

Verstappen’s former performance coach Bradley Scanes recently disclosed that the four-time world champion deliberately touched Hamilton’s rear wing after qualifying for the 2021 Sao Paulo Grand Prix to put Mercedes’ car legality in the spotlight.

The Dutchman was fined €50,000 for illegally touching and examining Hamilton’s rear wing in parc ferme after the seven-time world champion had claimed pole position for the sprint race in Brazil.

Following post-session checks, Hamilton’s W12 was found not in compliance with the rules, leading him to be excluded from qualifying. Despite being resigned to the back-of-the-grid for the sprint, Hamilton staged a stunning fightback through the field to beat his great rival Verstappen to the win in the grand prix.

But speaking to media at the Dutch Grand Prix, where Crash.net are on the ground, Verstappen insisted he could not “recall” playing mind games as he contradicted his then-performance coach’s comments.

“I can’t really recall that, to be honest,” Verstappen responded when asked about Scanes’ comments on Thursday at Zandvoort.

"From my side, it didn’t feel like that. So, I can't really say anything more about it because, for me, it didn’t feel like that or it didn’t happen that way.”

What did Bradley Scanes claim?

During an appearance on the High Performance podcast, Scanes appeared to reveal the true extent of the tension between Verstappen and Hamilton, and the lengths they would each go to in order to gain a competitive advantage.

"2021 is probably the best experience I’ve ever had. I had a front-row, first-hand seat watching two greats of the sport go at it," Scanes explained.

"And these were two greats of the sport. These two were fighting 20 seconds up the road from everybody else, but they were one second between them the entire time.

"And some of those races where you go, 'Hang on a minute, we’re going to win the championship.' And it’s like, 'Oh no, back against the ropes now.' And we didn’t win four of the last five.

"We were struggling, and whatever happened happened in Abu Dhabi, but both drivers for sure deserved to win that title that year. Obviously, I’m biased and we deserved it more. But it was a lot of pressure. It was intense. You could cut the tension with a knife in the paddock.

"I remember Brazil, so three races from the end and we’re next to each other in the garages, next to each other in the hospitality.

"The way the paddock’s laid out, you're having to walk past each other, walk past each other’s hospitality as well. And no one would even look at each other - Red Bull, Mercedes. No one would look at each other, no one would talk to each other.

"And nowadays, you’d stop and talk to your other half from Mercedes or guys you knew there, but in those last few races, it was a battle, it was war."

Verstappen went on to beat Hamilton to the title in one of the most controversial title finales in F1 history at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.