F1: Former champion warns Verstappen to 'keep it clean' against Hamilton

Former Formula 1 world champion Damon Hill has admitted that he will be watching current championship leader Max Verstappen very closely in the final two races of the 2021 season. The 1996 title holder warned the Dutchman to keep it clean as he approaches the last two races in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi while sitting eight points ahead of reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Verstappen knows that he could potentially clinch the title this weekend if he manages to come away 26 points clear of the Briton.

Because of this, Hill has warned the Dutchman to steer clear of any dirty tricks that may lead him to force Hamilton into a crash. Even if he risks himself in the process, taking both the Red Bull and the Mercedes out of the race in Saudi Arabia will mean that Verstappen will keep his eight-point lead going into the finale.

Hill knows that this is a tempting prospect for Verstappen, who is chasing his first world title. The same thing happened in 1994, when a young Michael Schumacher took out both himself and Hill in the final race of the season. Schumacher was leading the championship at the time, and a DNF for both cars meant that he secured his first title with his opponent unable to put up a fight.

"For a driver to resist the temptation to be an aggressive defender is extremely high, it's very difficult to resist that," Hill said, in a interview quoted by Marca. He then called on the FIA and Formula 1 stewards to find a way to make sure that such an incident does not happen.

"I think the point is how can the sport take steps to prevent an unhappy ending. We've had enough of these championships which have been decided controversially and I think that, for all the good work the sport does, it's slightly undone when we have an unsatisfactory resolution," he said.

Hill thinks that a point deduction may deter such an incident from taking place. However, the season has already been marred by numerous protests and penalties, along with a war of words between team bosses Toto Wolff and Christian Horner. Likewise, fans have also been embroiled in a number of conflicts due to penalties imposed on both the title contenders.

With Hill's proposed "punishment" scheme, race stewards will have more power than ever to decide the outcome of the championship. That may be something that can backfire in the long run.