Jos Verstappen has said he quite “enjoyed” watching his son Max overlapping his former on-track faux, Lewis Hamilton at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix last weekend.
The Dutchman went on to win the race and close the widening gap between himself and the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc as Hamilton sits in an unfamiliar seventh in the standings.
Verstappen and Hamilton put on an incredibly entertaining show last season with an intense title battle every single weekend last season as tensions were high up to the final outing at the Abu Dhabi finale.
Verstappen ultimately went on to take the title in 2021 after a call from the race director during a safety car brought the two closer together. Although Hamilton was in the lead throughout the Grand Prix, after the safety car the charging bull on fresher tyres crossed the line first.
Cut to this season, and Hamilton’s Mercedes has been far off the pace of Verstappen’s Red Bull, and it seems Jos is delighted with how things are moving this year for the team.
Writing in a column on his official website, Jos said: “Max had an excellent weekend in Imola,” Jos Verstappen wrote. “I found him incredibly strong. He didn’t make a single mistake, was solid and completely in control.
“Red Bull clearly made a step in the right direction. Of course, we knew the car would get an upgrade in Italy, but with the weather conditions, it was hard to make a comparison. But we can definitely conclude that we’ve become stronger.”
“Honestly, I did enjoy seeing Max lap Hamilton, after everything that happened last year. Hamilton really had a tough time, whereas his teammate George Russell seemed to be more balanced. It’s not often you have the opportunity to lap a Mercedes.”
