Hamilton Verstappen rivalry has "old scars that need healing" - Webber

Former F1 driver Mark Webber believes there are "still some old scars that need healing" between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen following their heated championship battle last season.

The rivalry between the pair often boiled over on the race track, with collisions in Silverstone, Monza and Saudi Arabia, added to near-misses in multiple other races.

Tensions were not helped by the way the championship was taken in Abu Dhabi, with Hamilton taking a leave of absence from the public spotlight over the winter break.

Speaking to Nine Australia's Wide World of Sports, Webber said: "I think we need a year off. They need a year off.

"There are still some old scars there that need some healing.

"That might be done after their careers, they can have a red wine together. But while they're racing against each other they'll be big rivals, and that's what we want in the sport."

Addressing the Abu Dhabi finale in particular, where Michael Masi's directorship of the race under the final safety car period has come under intense scrutiny, Webber assessed: "For the sport, we were all disappointed it ended like that. It's not how we wanted it to end.

"Both of them deserved to lift that trophy, but we did not want it to finish like that at all.

"We wanted a straight fight, a clean fight, and unfortunately there was one guy [Hamilton] with his hand tied behind his back.

"Of course in hindsight, they would all agree we could have done something different. What happened wasn't the ideal scenario."

Related

More F1 news

Latest F1 news

Former Sauber star stops racing to join the army

• 49 minutes ago

F1 Spanish Grand Prix a 'total dud' as Government Minister issues damning Madring statement

• 2 hours ago

Honda replace F1 boss after nightmare Aston Martin season

• Today 12:27

F1 News Today: Lewis Hamilton concedes title as Sky Sports blame F1 driver for Madrid mess

• Today 11:26

Team fined for 'woman wearing shorts' at Spanish Grand Prix

• Today 10:57

F1 champion Lando Norris takes down journalist in tense exchange: 'Did you even watch the race?'

• Today 09:43