Max Verstappen’s 'Power Trip' Mind Game That Made Lewis Hamilton Wait

For Hamilton, along the benchmark, the cadence of a weekend was familiar and controlled. Verstappen’s tweak disrupted that rhythm. It was not about humiliation or disrespect; it was about asserting presence in a space where presence matters. 

The tactic also fits Verstappen’s broader competitive profile. He’s famously unflappable under pressure and resistant to paddock politics; the “power trip” didn’t require bravado or confrontation. 

It was a quiet inversion of routine—a reminder that momentum did move: Verstappen’s results since then speak for themselves, while Hamilton’s greatness remains unquestioned. 

Crucially, Scanes who was embedded with Verstappen as his performance coach framed the ploy as gamesmanship born from annoyance. If Hamilton’s prep lag was an irritant, Max turned it into an edge. That’s classic elite behaviour: convert friction into fuel, inconvenience into initiative. 

Fans will argue forever about where the line lies between mind games and mindless. But this episode reveals something essential about modern F1: the battle doesn’t pause when the chequered flag falls. 

It lives in the corridors, the call times, the choreography of who walks first and who waits. Verstappen found a way to win a sliver of that space. Hamilton, as ever, absorbed it and raced on.

In a sport defined by control, even a wardrobe change can be a weapon.