2016 F1 World Champion Nico Rosberg has given his take on the escalating rivalry between Sir Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, saying he believes Mercedes have the upper hand for the time being.
Verstappen had an outburst in Hungary after he was asked by British journalist Tom Clarkson about the collision between him and Hamilton at Silverstone.
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Specifically, he asked if the incident – which resulted in Verstappen crashing out of the race while Hamilton went on to win the grand prix despite receiving a 10-second time penalty – would change his approach to turn one at Hungary.
“Can we just already stop about this! We’ve had so many ******* questions about this. It’s just ridiculous,” an irritated Verstappen replied.
Asked for his response, Hamilton merely shrugged his shoulders and didn’t seem riled by the question at all.
Commenting on Verstappen’s outburst and Hamilton’s response, Rosberg said his former team-mate is “very smart” in how he conducts himself.
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“I would say if you look at the grand scheme of things, Mercedes are having the upper hand now in everything, in pace, in posture, in attitude, everything,” Rosberg told Sky Sports F1.
“Max Verstappen, we saw him in the press conference losing his cool, really shouting a little bit at the journalists and that really plays into Mercedes’ hands at the moment.
“[Lewis] is very smart. He knows how to deal with all the situations that are thrown at him. He is very smart at saying the right things in the press.
“Verstappen lost his cool when it was a journalist asking if they were going to collide again at turn one.
“Verstappen was shouting and Lewis just did a shrug of the shoulders and it was a position of strength from him,” the German concluded.
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