Max Verstappen edges ahead of Lewis Hamilton despite making two mistakes – Chandhok

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Former F1 driver and now Sky Sports pundit Karun Chandhok believes Max Verstappen has the slightest of edges over Lewis Hamilton this season, despite trailing the seven-time world champion by eight points in the world standings.

Despite admitting it was “really hard to choose” between the pair, Chandhok believes without Verstappen’s tyre blowout in Azerbaijan, the Dutchman would still hold a sizeable lead.

“It was really hard to choose between Lewis and Max for who to put on top and, to be honest, there’s a strong argument to be made for both,” Chandhok wrote for skysports.com.

“Neither driver has been perfect, though. Max made an error in Bahrain by passing Lewis on the outside of the track, and then went wide in Portimao which cost him pole, while I still believe he could have given Lewis a bit more room in that crash at Silverstone.

“But otherwise, he’s been superb this season and has maximised the car he has got on every opportunity. Without the tyre blowout in Baku and even assuming he got second in Silverstone, he would be leading the championship by 37 points.

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“The Dutchman and the team will be hoping to swing the form back in their favour at the two home races he’s got straight after the summer break.”

Hamilton now leads the way by eight points in the standings after a huge swing in the championship at the British Grand Prix.

And after two opening lap collisions for Verstappen, the Red Bull are now on the back foot heading into the summer break.

But Chandhok admitted you can’t rule out more dominance from Mercedes come the second half of the season.

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“Ultimately Lewis’ off-form weekend in Monaco and the error on the re-start in Baku were enough for me to put him behind Max,” he continued.

“The race win in Bahrain was utterly sublime and the final stint was a clear reminder to the whole paddock just why he’s the benchmark driver of his generation. Lewis’ ability to closely follow Max in the dirty air in Spain was crucial to getting the strategy to work.

“Lewis got lucky in Imola in that the race was red-flagged when he was in the gravel, but the great drivers always seem to also have the rub of the green when it matters.

“Leading the World Championship going into the summer break after a weekend where he dominated qualifying will be a big psychological bonus.”

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