F1: Lewis Hamilton wants to beat Max Verstappen 'the right way,' will not play dirty

Lewis Hamilton has moved away from Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff's suggestion that on-track contact with title rival Max Verstappen cannot be ruled out if the championship came down to the final race of the campaign. The Austrian seemed to suggest a potential "Senna-Prost" situation to swing the title race in his driver's favour.

Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost had many flashpoints during their legendary rivalry during the 80's and 90's, but one of the turning points was at the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix when the Brazilian collided with Prost to try and sway the title fight.

"If it was to come to the scenario of the last race in Abu Dhabi and they [Hamilton and Verstappen] were to be racing each other for the title, whoever is in front is absolutely going to try to do the same as in the Senna-Prost years," Wolff said in a recent interview with the Daily Mail.

Hamilton, however, has dismissed any notion of an on-track incident deciding the title race between himself and Verstappen. The seven-time world champion made it clear that if he wins the title, "it will the right way" and if it does not happen, he is prepared to accept the loss in a similar fashion.

"We've never won a championship in that way; I have never won a championship in that way and would never want to. So, that's from my perspective, my point of view: I'm here to win in the right way and that's through sheer skill and determination and hard work," Hamilton said Thursday prior to this weekend's Mexican Grand Prix, as quoted on F1.com.

"You know how I've won my championships in the past and I always want to win it the right way. If you're going to lose it, you lose it the right way also: with dignity and knowing that you're giving it your all and you've done things the right way and you've worked as hard as you could."

Hamilton and Verstappen have had their fair share of on-track incidents this season with the two major flashpoints coming at the British Grand Prix when Verstappen ended up in the wall after making contact with the Mercedes driver. The second incident occurred at the Italian Grand Prix when both the title contenders ended up in the gravel after making contact going into Turn 1.

The title fight between Hamilton and Verstappen resumes at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City this weekend with the Dutch racer ahead by 12 points.