Toto Wolff admits that there is the potential for further collisions between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen following their controversial crash at the British Grand Prix. The title rivals came together on the first lap of the race, resulting in Verstappen crashing out whilst Hamilton received a 10-second penalty for his part in the incident, though the seven-times World Champion still went on to win the Grand Prix. Wolff is aware that the rivalry between the two drivers will have intensified since Silverstone, but hopes that they can keep their battles clean. "I think that the intensity has increased since Silverstone," Wolff told Autosport. "It certainly will not be the last time they fight for position and hopefully they can do it in a sportsmanlike way. And, if not, we will see more collisions." The incident marked the first time that Hamilton and Verstappen have made contact during the 2021 F1 season, with the pair previously fighting each other hard but managing to avoid a collision. Wolff believes that this is down to the fact that Hamilton has previously been more willing to play the long game, whilst at the British Grand Prix neither he nor Verstappen wanted to give way. "I think part of his [Hamilton’s] success is not only his race craft, but also his maturity," Wolff explained. "Long-term strategy is important in order to win championships because you need to score points. "It has come to a situation that ceding a track position has been part of the pattern of the last few races. This time neither of them conceded and it ended up in a heavy collision." However, Wolff does not believe that Hamilton felt he had a point to prove on this occasion. "I think he's much beyond proving a point. He is a 99-time race winner, and seven-time World Champion. There is nothing Lewis Hamilton needs to prove to anybody anymore." Following what happened at Silverstone, Hamilton is now only eight points behind Verstappen in the Drivers' Standings, whilst Red Bull saw their advantage over Mercedes in the Constructors' Championship cut to just four points.
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