A year ago, the accident between Verstappen and Hamilton at Silverstone

Silverstone, Sunday July 18. Twenty-four hours after their duel during the first Sprint Race in the history of the Formula 1, Max Verstappen et Lewis Hamilton met for a new battle on the track. A new meeting which would forever mark their fight for the title which lasted until December 12 and the 22nd and final Grand Prix contested in Abu Dhabi.

But it was in Great Britain that the crossover between the two men experienced one of its strongest moments. If he had gained the upper hand over Lewis Hamilton during the Sprint Race the day before, Max Verstappen experienced the opposite scenario. When the lights went out, the Englishman took off better than the Dutchman but the latter defended his position with authority whether at the first corner or at Brooklands, the corner at the end of the first long straight, where the Briton could not find the opening.

Hamilton doesn't give up, Verstappen on the mat

That's when the tragedy happened. Nestled in the exhausts of Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton chose the inside at Copse, a corner that goes full throttle with current F1 cars. Result ? No room for two but above all a clash between them. Not wanting to let go, just like his opponent, Hamilton, with his front left wheel, touched the right rear wheel of the Batavian and sent him into the tire wall at full speed. On site, the crowd is jubilant since the main rival of his favorite finished in the background while the local continued on his way and even won despite a 10-second penalty while Max Verstappen was in the hospital and did not mince his words when he came out.

« I'm obviously very disappointed to have been let out like that. The penalty given does not help us at all and does not do justice to the dangerous maneuver Lewis made on the track, he regretted. Seeing the post-race celebrations while I'm still in the hospital is disrespectful and unsportsmanlike, but we'll move on »

 

 

 

 

 

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In the stands, the tension is palpable. At the house of Red Bull et Mercedes, we constantly blame each other while the two bosses Christian Horner and Toto wolff exchanging with the race direction and Michael Masi which even gave rise to one of the key replies from the second: “ Michael, I just sent you an email with all the diagrams showing where the car should be. Have you received it ? » To which the race director replied by telling him that he did not read his mail during a Grand Prix.

« It's a cheap price to pay for sending your opponent to the hospital., grumbled Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner when talking about Lewis Hamilton's penalty after the incident. Especially since it seems more like an act of desperation than an error of judgment. After missing the opportunity to pass Max at the start, he understood that he was going to have to let him go and he stayed on the inside of Copse which is the fastest corner in the championship, at 290 km/h. All Grand Prix drivers know that they are taking a huge risk in attempting such a maneuver here. So yes, I am upset that we can get out of such a dangerous maneuver with only ten seconds. »

Toto Wolff, for his part, was lenient in explaining that the college of commissioners had done its job. “ This is simply a situation where the two guys did not do each other any favors. It was already quite close in the first half of the lap, Lewis gave in for the first time. And when there's a fight at loggerheads, there can be contact, and that's what happened in this corner. There is a rule, a directive from the commissioners, which is crystal clear. As a driver, you absolutely must understand that if your front wheels are in the middle of the other car on the outside of the corner, you have priority. In the end, they just didn't do each other any favors. According to the stewards, it's worth 10 seconds because it was a high-speed corner, that's how it is. You just have to leave a little space. It's always difficult to put a rule into perspective. Priority in a corner depends on where your front axle is, that's what the rule says. And Hamilton was practically on par with Verstappen. » Everyone has their own version of the facts.

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