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Former Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has accused Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton of 'bullying' title rival Max Verstappen in the race for the drivers' championship.
Hamilton won a frantic and action-packed Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday to go level on points with the Red Bull driver, taking their thrilling battle for the title to the final race.
The Jeddah race was not without incident, with Hamilton colliding into the back of Verstappen's car when the Dutchman was ordered to slow down and allow the Brit to overtake him midway through the race.
Bernie Ecclestone (left) has accused Mercedes of 'bullying' title rival Max Verstappen (right)
Ecclestone claims Toto Wolff (left) and Hamilton (right) are 'pushing down' on Verstappen
However, confusion saw Hamilton hit the back of Verstappen's car which saw the seven-time world champion brand him as 'f***ing crazy' before the Red Bull man was hit with two separate time penalties and points on his racing license.
Ecclestone, 91, claims Hamilton has been using his wealth of experience to 'push down' on Verstappen before accusing Mercedes chief Toto Wolff of influencing race directors.
'Max is a kid compared to Lewis and the worst thing is Lewis has a massive publicity campaign working for him,' Ecclestone told AFP.
'They have been pushing down all the time on Max and then the race directors have been looking in because Toto goes to the race director.
Ecclestone's comments come after Hamilton (right) collided with Verstappen (left) on Sunday
'Max has more than a race to confront as he has them too on his back because they
