Max Verstappen refuses to act like Lewis Hamilton as he responds to Brit's apology
Max Verstappen was angered following an incident with Lewis Hamilton in practice at Emilia Romagna.
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen wasn’t in the mood for diplomacy after being impeded by rival Lewis Hamilton in practice for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. The runaway leader in the drivers’ standings endured a surprisingly difficult day on Friday, only seventh fastest overall and regularly complaining over team radio about the balance of his car.
To compound matters, when the Dutchman was trying to do a fast lap on soft tyres, his efforts were scuppered by Hamilton who appeared to hold him up and leave no room for an overtake. Verstappen’s anger was clear, eventually pulling up alongside the W15 car and throwing his fists up in the air.
Hamilton did hold both hands up by way of apology, but that didn’t seem to appease the 26-year-old. And afterwards, he implied that this wasn’t the first such incident with the seven-time world champion.
"It's just not the first time,” he said. “You try to of course always stay calm about it, but yes, it happened again at the other end also. I don't want to really talk about it too much because that's not our issue."
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Verstappen also ranted about his vehicle, adding: "A few things that we have to look at because today, yes, it was bad. This is just not comfortable. Also, the long run was really bad. So yes, definitely a few things that we have to improve if we want to be competitive tomorrow.”
It’s the latest in a long line of clashes between the pair, whose rivalry hit fever pitch during their notorious 2021 title battle. Tensions have simmered since however, with the 39-year-old’s struggles with Mercedes rendering him out of the title picture.
However, Verstappen’s reaction starkly contrasted that of Hamilton himself when the British driver was faced with a similar situation in Miami. He was disrupted during the Saturday sprint race by Haas man Kevin Magnussen, with the Dane later taking full responsibility.
"I think that's pretty honest for him - and I think that's pretty cool,” said Hamilton, upon learning of the admission. "We had a good race. It was a little bit on the edge in some places but that's what I love. I love racing hard and, for me, I wasn't really p***ed or anything.”
On Friday, Hamilton was superior to Verstappen, fourth quickest on the day. It was Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who set the pace, 0.192 seconds quicker than McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, with VCARB driver Yuki Tsunoda a surprise third.