Lewis Hamilton wasn't all that worried about letting Max Verstappen past on the opening lap of the F1 Spanish Grand Prix, stating that his mind is always on the long game.
The two championship rivals came close to touching in the run down to Turn 1, with the Dutchman eventually squeezing out the Brit to take the lead. Hamilton explained that he gave Verstappen some space as a race is a marathon, not a sprint, and so he didn't feel the need to be aggressive.
"In my mind, it’s always a marathon, not a sprint, so I’m just always thinking the long game and sure, you could be a little bit more aggressive. Do I need to?," Hamilton told RacingNews365.com and other members of the media.
"Well, I’m in the position that I’m in because I don’t get too aggressive when I don’t need to be."
Hamilton added that there was even a moment prior to Turn 1 when he could have prevented Verstappen from getting the inside line.
"I think in hindsight there could have been a moment, looking back, that when Max moved in behind me for a second, I could have pulled across and sealed the job there – but I didn’t," Hamilton added.
"And then, as we went into Turn 1, I just made sure I gave as much space as I could to Max."
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Verstappen
Sergio
Pérez
Fernando
Alonso
Lewis
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