MAX VERSTAPPEN'S father Jos admitted he "enjoyed" watching his son lap Lewis Hamilton at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
The reigning world champion coasted to victory at the Imola circuit as Red Bull helped themselves to an impressive one-two.
One of the major talking points of the race was that Verstappen, who pipped Hamilton to the title last year in the most dramatic fashion, lapped the Brit during another torrid weekend for the seven-time champion.
And while Max insists he took no pleasure from breezing past the struggling Mercedes man, former F1 driver Jos took a different view.
Speaking in his column, he said: “Honestly, I did enjoy seeing Max lap Hamilton after everything that happened last year.
"Hamilton really had a tough time, whereas his team-mate George Russell seemed to be more balanced.
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"It’s not often you have the opportunity to lap a Mercedes."
Hamilton finished down in 14th as his teammate Russell managed a superb fourth place.
Meanwhile, Jos was also thoroughly impressed with his son's performance in Italy as he clinched a second victory of the season.
"Max had an excellent weekend in Imola. I found him incredibly strong," he added.
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"He didn’t make a single mistake, was solid and completely in control. Red Bull clearly made a step in the right direction.
"Of course, we knew the car would get an upgrade in Italy, but with the weather conditions it was hard to make a comparison. But we can definitely conclude that we’ve become stronger.
"Saturday during the sprint race, we saw the first glimpses of this. Max caught up with Charles. It meant Ferrari had to push harder, forcing them to use the tires more.
"In Italy, Max and Red Bull put Ferrari under pressure, and when under pressure, it’s easy to make a mistake. If you are effortlessly leading, that chance is a lot smaller. It turned out to be a perfect weekend for Max."
Following the weekend's action, Hamilton ruled himself out of the championship fight as he fell 58 points behind leader Charles Leclerc.
He is also 21 points adrift of new Mercedes team-mate Russell.
In the wake of his poor performances and pace, Hamilton said: "It's been difficult, but I don't really know what to say. It's definitely not easy.
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"I am out of the championship, and there's no question about that. But I’ll still keep working as hard as I can, to try and pull it back together somehow.
"It has been a weekend to forget for sure."
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