Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has warned that Sir Lewis Hamilton will crash into Max Verstappen if that’s what’s required for him to secure his eighth World Championship this year.
The two drivers have been locked in a fierce battle the 2021 WDC since lights out in Bahrain – and there have been a number of incidents between the pair.
Hamilton and Verstappen have made contact on several occasions this season, and tensions between them came to a head in Monza, with a collision at the first chicane taking them both out of the race.
Speaking with just five grand prix of the 2021 season remaining, Wolff said Hamilton will do whatever it takes to ensure he comes out on top against the Dutch ace.
“If it was to come to the scenario of the last race in Abu Dhabi and they were to be racing each other for the title, whoever is in front is absolutely going to try to do the same as in the Senna-Prost years,” Wolff said in an interview with the Daily Mail.
“What happened in Monza? Verstappen took Lewis out because he was about to overtake and he was quicker. And that is totally understandable.
“If you are racing for the championship and you see it fading away because the other guy is overtaking you, what tool have you got other than the one that makes sure he can’t overtake?
“We’ve seen it with Schumacher and Villeneuve, we saw it with Senna and Prost twice.
“I would never give the instruction to crash into anyone else but if they go to that last race and whoever is in front wins the championship, they will be racing each other, hard.
“And I don’t think you can control it, Hamilton and Verstappen, I don’t think you want to control it because they are the gladiators in their machines.
“That is what makes this sport so interesting, because it is ingrained in our nature that we don’t like confrontation and then one is intrigued to see how that relationship unfolds,” the Austrian added.
Heading into this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix, Verstappen has a 12-point advantage over Hamilton at the summit of the Drivers’ Standings.
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