Following a clash between the Red Bull and Mercedes drivers at the Hungarian GP, the stewards’ have claimed that Hamilton could have done more to avoid contact with Verstappen.
Due to the team’s strategy calls throughout the race, Verstappen was exposed to an undercut from Hamilton on two occasions.
On lap 63 of the race, Verstappen went airborne due to a collision with the Mercedes after locking up whilst attempting to overtake Hamilton into turn 1 for P3. Alongside several factors that affected his race, including strategy and tyre issues, Verstappen finished in P5, whilst Hamilton rounded off the podium in P3.
After the GP, the seven-time world champion seemed to be unbothered by the collision, claiming that it felt like a racing incident and that Verstappen simply locked up. This is something that the stewards appeared to second, as neither driver was penalised for the incident.
Verstappen seemed to view things differently and claimed post-race that Hamilton was moving under braking, and this is what caused the incident.
Hamilton further explained that he doesn’t “feel there should be any hostility” whilst noting that from Verstappen’s perspective, there “always will be.”
Despite no action from the stewards, they went on to note that Hamilton “could have done more to avoid the collision.”
The Mercedes driver found this comment perplexing, commenting that he was “really, really surprised by it”.
“I think already I was very relaxed about the situation.
“I just said, it’s just a racing incident, let’s just move on.
“But considering one car was in control, one car was not in control at the time. And if you look at the replay, I’m very, very far from, at the end of the whole move.
“I’m very, very far from the apex. So, I’ve left, there’s a lot of room on the right-hand side. So, I was very, very surprised.”
He also noted that he and Verstappen didn’t speak about the crash after the race, assuming that no such conversation was necessary, due to it being a racing incident.
“We didn’t talk afterwards […] I mean, we went to the stewards. That’s it.”
“We’ve not had a talk. I don’t know if we will. Maybe we’ll talk in the parade this weekend.
“I’ve not felt that there’s necessarily a need to.”
Despite those words, Hamilton later went on to claim that Verstappen failed to act like a world champion throughout the race weekend.
His comments are in reference to the Dutch driver telling those who criticised his public annoyance towards Red Bull and their strategy to “fuck off.”
“You have to be a team leader, a team member.
“Maybe not such a leader, but just always remember you are a teammate to a lot of people. You have to act like a world champion.“
When asked to clarify what the driver means by ‘acting like a world champion’, he responded, stating:“Not like it was last weekend.”
But that wasn’t the only drama throughout Hamilton’s race weekend…
In the cooldown room after the GP, Lando Norris had an icy response after Hamilton said “Hoo, you guys are fast!”, talking about the pace of the McLaren throughout the weekend.
The young Brit quickly responded, noting “You had a fast car seven years ago.”
After Hamilton noted that seven years is a long time in the racing world, Norris responded, “You had a quick car. You made the most of it and now it’s us!”
Hamilton responded, seemingly confused about Norris’s tone, adding, “I wasn’t complaining. I was just complimenting you on your car.”
When asked if the McLaren driver’s comments frustrated him, Hamilton was empathetic.
“It didn’t bother me, no.”
“I’m nearly 40 years old, so I remember being in my mid-twenties. It’s an age thing and I don’t take it personally.
“I think ultimately, all us drivers, all us competitors, we do put a lot of pressure on ourselves. That’s how we do what we do.
“I don’t think you can be particularly great without putting pressure on yourself.
“Can you be too hard on yourself? For sure. There was a time, I think, when I didn’t leave my room for three days when I was his age, so I know what it’s like.
“I hope he doesn’t. I think what’s important is that we continue to do what we’re doing. The drivers are great. They’ve got a great car.”
