Lewis Hamilton vs Max Verstappen dominates build-up to Chinese Grand Prix after Bahrain dust-up

The two clashed on the second lap of last week’s Bahrain Grand Prix

The ingredients are there for a superb fight this weekend (Getty)

Hot on the heels of their first double retirement since Korea in 2010, what Red Bull need most here this weekend is a strong points finish; possibly even challenging Ferrari and Mercedes for victory, if the cards fall right. What they don’t need is an argument between Lewis Hamilton and their diver Max Verstappen.

The two clashed on the second lap of last week’s Bahrain Grand Prix, and as Verstappen came off worst with a puncture and transmission damage which curtailed his race – on the very lap on which team-mate Daniel Ricciardo’s electrics shut down and eliminated him – Hamilton was later moved to utter the word ‘dickhead’ when he watched a replay of the incident.

Verstappen, often the bete noire of the sport, partly because of his hot-headed nature and partly because he’s still the junior and therefore more of a target (though not usually where Hamilton is concerned), refused to get drawn into a fight however.

He said he had yet to speak to the reigning world champion, who carried on and finished third last weekend. He said he might, but it wasn’t a priority or a necessity.

Hamilton said he thought he had been ahead for most of the corner where they clashed, but that once he accepted defeat he gave Verstappen the required room - only for the young Dutchman to hold him out wide unnecessarily, until they touched.

“I was in the car, so I felt it, I saw it,” Verstappen said calmly. “That’s racing. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. You can say whatever you like about the incident, I think I had a fair shot at it. It was nothing crazy, nothing risky. But yeah, unfortunately this time it didn’t work out.

“Looking back, for example, in Mexico last year it did work out. This time we gave each maybe not enough space, but that’s racing as well, at the end of the day. Like I said, sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad.

Hamilton was critical of Verstappen’s overtake during the Bahrain Grand Prix (Getty)

“Why should I change something? I don’t think I did anything wrong in terms of my approach. I was just trying to overtake a car. I think it was a fair chance. I went for it. For example, last year in Mexico it could have gone wrong as well – maybe for me, maybe for another car. As you could see in Mexico it didn’t go wrong for me. It’s racing; it’s very simple. I don’t understand why everybody is so on top of the topic. Those things happen in racing, you know.”

Asked why he thought Hamilton had a go at him, he responded: “Why? Because it’s quite easy and simple to blame the younger driver. That’s the only way I can see it. Like I said, these things happen. There’s no reason for me to change anything.”

Hamilton himself said last Sunday: “The Red Bull is a car capable of good results but Max still has this inexperience and it was not a mature decision. He’s not getting the results [this year]. I went through that stuff when I was younger, so I know how it is.”

And, crucially, he admitted he is thinking about the World Championship, whereas Verstappen is still at the stage when we wants to win every race rather than focusing on a title.

Max Verstappen defended himself over the crash (Getty)

Certainly the ingredients are there for a superb fight this weekend. Hamilton and Mercedes need a win to get back in the game with Sebastian Vettel 17 points ahead after winning the two opening races, and the Silver Arrows need to prove they can hit back. But Red Bull could be a spoiler with just a little better fortune.

“The car is very quick, I think especially in the race,” said Verstappen, who crashed in qualifying last weekend when his Renault power unit suffered a 150 bhp surge and sent him spinning off. “I think we know in qualifying we are losing out a bit, just on pure performance, on top speed. But as soon as that all calms down a bit in the race, yeah, I was very confident, for example, before we went into the race to still move up a lot of positions, because I think the car was definitely capable of just driving back to the podium.

“So yeah, I’m just looking forward to get started again here, because we have a good package, and there are a lot of good things coming. So, yeah, ready to go.”

If a third team can get in on the act on a regular basis, and if Red Bull can start taking points from both current title contenders and add that spice of unpredictability, F1 could be on target for a gripping world championship contest over the next 19 races.