Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton might be fierce rivals on the track right now but their off-track relationship currently seems to be quite harmonious, so much so that they shared a relaxed chat after the French Grand Prix about a surprising topic. The race saw Verstappen beat Hamilton to the win with barely any laps remaining, meaning the Red Bull driver extended his lead in the World Championship. Yet rather than this causing tension, journalist Tom Clarkson - who conducts the driver press conference interviews at Grand Prix weekends - has revealed that the pair chose to talk about Hamilton's hair following the event. "Before the cameras turned on, Max sat there, chatting to Lewis," Clarkson told the F1 Nation podcast about the post-race press conference at Paul Ricard. "Lewis talked about Max's straight-line speed advantage. Max changed the subject and asked him about Lewis' hair. Is it the cornrows, is that what you call it? "He said, 'How often do you have to get those done?' 'Oh well, about once a week I get a mate to come in'... It was all this kind of stuff. "Lewis had just lost the race to Max Verstappen, but it was all very relaxed, very harmonious. They were together in the press conference on Thursday before the race, total harmony again." Clarkson thinks there is a big difference here in the relationship between Verstappen and Hamilton compared to that of their respective team bosses Christian Horner and Toto Wolff. "What was interesting after the race is we think there's friction maybe between the team principals, Christian and Toto, and difficult times for Mercedes at the minute," Clarkson said. "But the relationship between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton is still fantastic." Sky Sports F1 presenter Natalie Pinkham added: "I think there's just a huge amount of respect between them, and I think they're both just grateful for this level of competition. They're loving it, aren't they?" Damon Hill also believes that both drivers are especially calm in 2021. "I think there's a calmness with Lewis this year, and also Max as well," the former F1 driver said.
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