Lewis Hamilton was "rattled" by the challenge of Max Verstappen last season and had to resort to "desperate" moves to stop the Dutchman, Christian Horner has claimed.
Verstappen would eventually win the title in highly controversial circumstances. But even before that dramatic finale, there were huge flashpoints including several on-track clashes as their title race turned sour.
Speaking on F1's Beyond the Grid podcast, Horner gave some insight into what the battle between the two drivers was like. Asked if each had succeeded in getting into the others' head, he replied: "I think arguably more so in Lewis' head, because he’s a seven-time world champion... he has everything to lose. Max is the young kid that's taking the risks, that's throwing everything at it and has got nothing to lose."
One of the larger incidents involving the two title-chasers took place at the British Grand Prix. The race at Silverstone was over on the first lap for Verstappen, whose Red Bull was clipped by Hamilton's Mercedes, sending him into the tyre wall at Copse Corner at around 160mph.
That 51G impact saw the Dutchman taken to hospital as a precaution, though thankfully there was no lasting damage. Hamilton was given a 10-second time penalty for causing the crash, but he still went on to easily win the race.
Horner used that weekend as an example of his belief that Hamilton was the racer more affected by the other. He added: "Some of [Verstappen's] overtaking last year was stunning and you felt that started to rattle Lewis.
"You definitely saw when Lewis qualified on pole at Silverstone and Max won the sprint race, he was a bit broken after the sprint race. Had Max made it through Copse, I don't think he would have seen him again after that. So there was an air of desperation building as well. It was high-stakes stuff and the emotions run high."
This year Verstappen is again in the hunt for the title, but the competition hasn't been nearly as stiff. Hamilton has been long out of the running amid Mercedes' car issues, while the other main contender, Charles Leclerc, has been hampered by reliability issues and strategy mistakes made by his Ferrari team.
Whenever the two have been close on track, the fighting has been much more controlled with no real flashpoints between them. But the difference is not due to a lack of respect for Hamilton, Horner insists, adding: "There's always been a respect, you can't not respect everything Lewis has done and achieved, it's quite remarkable and maybe never to be bettered.
"But everybody is beatable at some point in time and Max had respect for him, but he wasn't in awe of him. He wasn't afraid of them, he relished going up against him and the opportunity to go wheel-to-wheel racing with him. He believed that he could beat him, and it was that inner belief and self-confidence that we saw on so many occasions come through."
