Lewis Hamilton has said that he and Max Verstappen would have crashes a lot more frequently if he did not adapt his driving style at times around the Dutchman.

Formula 1's title fight this year continues to endure with Hamilton now leading the Drivers' standings by two points after the Russian Grand Prix at the weekend.

Indeed, the race in Sochi saw the title protagonists finish one and two, perhaps incredibly considering how most of the 53 laps unfolded and given the fact that Max started from the back, but that shows just how good these two are.

They have, though, for all their talents come acropper against one another at times this season, of course, and there has been suggestions from onlookers that both of them need to be a little more circumspect than they have been when going wheel to wheel.

That's a line Hamilton appears to be echoing ahead of the final third of the season, too, with him saying he's learned over previous seasons to perhaps reign the aggression in and live to fight another day, as well as saying if he didn't he and Max would end up in the shrubs a lot more.

"I am aware of that at times. I have also had times when I was too aggressive [and] I should have held back more," Hamilton told Dutch publication De Telegraaf.

"Now I am much more mature and yes, I do hold back in certain situations when driving against Max. Otherwise, we would crash much more often.

"I try to outsmart him in another way. If I survive that corner, I might be able to beat him through strategy. That's experience and hopefully it will pay off at the end of the season."

Lewis did go on to say that he's perfectly fine with Max's perceived driving style, however, and said there are no issues providing their safety isn't put at risk.

"Max never gives up, but neither do I," added Hamilton.

"I've raced against a lot of drivers. I've raced against many drivers with that attitude. Some are smarter than others. The season is a marathon, not a sprint.

"But it's nice for the public that new characters are emerging. Incidents sometimes belong in this sport and I think we [can] both easily turn the switch again. As long as we stay healthy."

Ultimately, both are massively hard racers desperate for this year's title for their own respective reasons and that's what has made this season so enthralling.

Hopefully, the rest of this campaign can be decided by who's simply the quickest on the tarmac,