F1 News

Stewart wants change in F1: 'Sometimes it seems to take a life'

Stewart wants change in F1: 'Sometimes it seems to take a life'

03-08-2021 06:15 Last update: 04-08-2021 11:34
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GPblog.com

Lewis Hamilton once again overtook Max Verstappen in Hungary last weekend and now has an eight-point lead after eleven races. The Briton didn't get into any trouble and wasn't a victim of the chaos that ensued behind him thanks to teammate Valtteri Bottas.

Sir Jackie Stewart speaks out against Talksports Breakfast Hamilton's second place, but also about the crash of Verstappen two weeks ago. About Hamilton's race last weekend Stewart was clear.

"I think Lewis was very lucky to finish second in the conditions, but Mercedes is doing a good job and he is driving exceptionally well."

Stewart thinks Verstappen would not have survived crash in his time

Because according to Stewart, today's cars are safe enough to survive a 50G crash. "Lewis' incident with Verstappen was very upsetting to me. Frankly, if that had been in my time and just after my time, Verstappen would not have survived. The race track has been made so safe by now, the run-off areas so big, and the structure of the car he [Verstappen] ended up coming to a stop with and even then the g-forces were huge. I think that was a good example of what Silverstone has done to make the track safer."

"But drivers take more liberties today than they used to because the penalties are not as big," the Brit continued. "Now it is so safe that I think drivers are taking too many risks. The first laps at Silverstone were a good example of that because I think both drivers were driving too fast, especially considering it was only the start of the race. We need to address that again and unfortunately, sometimes it takes a big, big action or even a life to really get that understood."

So Hamilton goes into the summer break with an eight-point lead, a period which will also likely reveal who will be teammates with Hamilton and Verstappen in the new cars next year.