The battle for the championship in 2021 is one everyone vividly remembers. Ahead of the Dutch GP, Max Verstappen was asked about intentional “mind games” between Red Bull and Mercedes back at the 2021 Brazil GP.
Four-time World Champion, Max Verstappen, claimed his first title in 2021. The title coming after a tension filled year between Verstappen and seven-time World Champion, Lewis Hamilton. The intense fight for the title remains a highly discussed topic among Formula 1 fans and drivers. Recently, Verstappen’s former performance coach, Bradley Scanes, went on the High Performance podcast and claimed Verstappen made intentional moves as a part of the mind games between the two teams in 2021.
According to an article by PlanetF1, Scanes stated:
“Brazil is a good example [of the mind games] where Max went behind the Mercedes rear wing and was giving it a good feel. That was measured. He knew he was going to get a 50k fine and no impact on track.”
Deliberate mind games
When speaking about the fine, Scanes is referring to an incident in parc ferme at the 2021 Brazil GP. Hamilton qualified on pole while Verstappen parked his car behind him.
At the time, the FIA stated the Dutchman “put his right hand at the slot-gap of the rear wing of his car. He then moves to car 44 and repeats the exercise, touching the rear wing in two places, once on either side of the DRS actuation device, but on the bottom rear side of the wing, in the area of the slot gap and never near the actuator or the end fixation point”
Verstappen was then handed a 50k fine as a result of breaching parc ferme regulations. After the incident, Hamilton was disqualified from qualifying. As a result of a potential rear wing infringement where the DRS opening slot happened to be larger than permitted.
Verstappen’s former performance coach continued on to claim that the four-time World Champion did not disclose this to him. Stating that Verstappen did not speak about touching the Mercedes rear wing. “Not with me personally, but in the team it was discussed. Even if nothing happened, [it would have been worth it].”
“I think there was a change. For the last two races, they couldn’t run that particular wing, so that was helpful in its own sense because they absolutely ran away with that Brazil race. But even if nothing happened, that would have just shifted the focus. Put a little bit of pressure in the media on them.”
Verstappen denies claims of intentional moment
Ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, Verstappen was asked if the incident Scales spoke on had been “intentional” as a part of 2021’s “mind games”.
“I can’t really recall that, to be honest. From my side, it didn’t feel like that. So I can’t really say anything more about it because for me, it didn’t feel like that or it didn’t happen that way.”
With the incident happening four years and four championships prior. It is understandable the champion does not remember the details of the particular moment. Despite his denial, Scanes claims that the 2021 season was filled with mind games by everyone involdes.
Scanes added onto his previous statement, claiming: “Obviously the games between Toto [Wolff] and Christian [Horner] were always clear to see in the media. But then backstage, [in the] cooldown rooms between Max and Lewis or even Angela [Cullen, Hamilton’s trainer]. [We] would kind of try and have a little go as well.”
