FIA promised visit from Lewis Hamilton as Brit left baffled by Max Verstappen decision
Lewis Hamilton was left confused by the FIA ahead of his outing at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
Lewis Hamilton promised that he would talk to the FIA this weekend about their reasoning for not penalising Max Verstappen at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The stewards judged that the Mercedes star ‘could have done more’ to avoid contact with his former title rival.
Hamilton and Verstappen collided at Turn One during a heated battle when Verstappen decided that the presence of the soon-to-be-lapped Alex Albon presented a rare overtaking opportunity.
Verstappen lunged up the inside of the Mercedes driver in a bid to seize third place but locked up in the process, running straight across the apex of the corner. Hamilton avoided turning in at the normal point but was eventually forced to do so, triggering contact that sent the Red Bull driver’s car airborne for a brief moment.
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Many pundits and onlookers attributed the blame to Verstappen and theorised that the three-time world champion would pick up a penalty for avoidable contact. However, the stewards deemed it a racing incident and even suggested that Hamilton could have done more to avoid the collision.
“Yes, very much so,” Hamilton replied when asked if the stewards’ reasoning was a surprise. “I was really surprised by it. Already I was very relaxed about the situation, saying, ‘Look, it's just a racing incident, let's just move on’.
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“But considering one car was in control and one car was not in control at the time... obviously when all the wheels are locked, you're not in control. If you look at the replay, at the end of the whole move I'm very far from the apex.
“So, I've left a lot of room on the right-hand side. I really was very surprised. I don't know who typed it up, but probably, yeah that will be a question when I speak to them at some stage.”
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Despite the drama of the clash between two old arch-rivals, Hamilton and Verstappen did not conduct talks to clear the air in the Hungarian GP paddock. However, the Brit has not ruled out a conversation in Belgium before Sunday’s race.
“We went to the stewards and that's it,” Hamilton explained. “We've not had [a] talk. I don't know if we will. If we get time, maybe we'll talk on the parade this weekend – maybe. I've not felt like there's necessarily a need to, but it might be something he wants to say. But we didn't get the time to do it.”
