Reacting to the collision between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in Great Britain, the other drivers mainly see it as a racing incident.
The British Grand Prix, contested Sunday at Silverstone, was the scene of a collision noticed between Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), in the middle of a breathtaking first lap. Starting from pole, the Dutchman had already twice defended his position against the Briton, who came to his inside from the first corner and then outside in Brooklands. Inevitably, the growing tension between the two world title contenders had to peak at the start of Copse’s very fast right turn. After a suction and a feint from the left, Lewis Hamilton goes to the right of the Red Bull, at his height. By being placed on the outside line, Max Verstappen can delay his braking more than his rival and it is at the point of rope that the two single-seaters touch each other. Spindled, the No.33 Red Bull spun through the gravel trap at high speed and crashed into the wall of tires, while the No.44 Mercedes returned to the pit lane, taking advantage of the race interruption. to replace its damaged front wing. At this moment, Lewis Hamilton ranks second in the hierarchy behind Charles Leclerc (Ferrari).
During the establishment of the red flag regime, the heads of both teams, Christian Horner (Red Bull) and Toto Wolff (Mercedes), interact with race director Michael Masi. The burning file of this collision is entrusted to the race marshals, who deliver their verdict shortly after the resumption. Lewis Hamilton is held responsible for the crash and receives a ten-second penalty. His sentence is served during his pit stop at 27e lap, which does not prevent it from quickly climbing back to the front of the race at the cost of a second sparkling stint. By taking a second per lap from Charles Leclerc, the seven-time world champion manages to overwhelm him to 50e of the 52 laps. Ironically, this victorious overtaking, from the inside, takes place in the bend of… Copse. Difficult to compare this action and the collision of the first round, but it seems that the Monegasque left more room than Max Verstappen, which led him to leave, leaving the Briton to triumph in front of his supporters.
Leclerc : « It’s hard to blame one or the other ”
Besides, Charles Leclerc is one of the many pilots who consider the Verstappen-Hamilton crash to be classified as the race incident, in words given to F1 official website : “It’s very difficult to judge from the car, we’re very low so it’s hard to see. Everything went very quickly, there was a lot going on around me. I think it’s a racing incident, it’s very hard to blame one or the other. Obviously there was space inside, maybe Lewis wasn’t completely on the rope, but it’s also true that Max was quite aggressive on the outside. These are things that happen, but I think the most important thing today is that Max is unharmed and that he is fine. “
This clash also seemed inevitable, according to Valtteri Bottas, current teammate of Lewis Hamilton: “I saw them fight in the first round, a bit like yesterday (Saturday, editor’s note). I had the feeling that something was going to happen. Obviously, they were fighting hard. This stuff happens, it’s racing. It can happen when you fight hard, when you don’t give up, but I’m also happy that Max is doing okay because that was a big shock. But I also really feel like Lewis fully deserved the win today. “ Former teammate of Max Verstappen and test driver Red Bull, the Thai Alex Albon did not necessarily defend the Dutchman, making a parallel with Lewis Hamilton’s overtaking Charles Leclerc at the end of the race in the same turn: “Part of me thinks Max could have shut down [la porte] to prevent Lewis from taking his position, but at the same time … when Lewis passed Charles it was a similar position for me maybe slightly different angles. “
Alonso : « Lewis couldn’t disappear ”
For the Spanish Fernando Alonso (Alpine), Lewis Hamilton’s first team mate in F1, at McLaren in 2007, the fault cannot be blamed on one of the two drivers: “In my opinion, Lewis had more than half of his car next to Max’s. So in a way Lewis couldn’t disappear from the inner trajectory. It’s not like we can evaporate. It was an unfortunate part of the race, but nothing intentional, no bad maneuver by either driver, in my opinion, just bad luck. “
For his part, the Briton Jolyon Palmer, former Renault F1 driver, is also animated by mixed feelings: “Honestly, [Lewis] is pretty much completely at Max’s side. The two championship protagonists are aiming for the inside line at Copse and one of them had to fall back. [Lewis] was completely off, obviously he misses the chord point slightly and moves towards Max, but Max also continues to turn towards him and he takes a huge risk by doing so at the Copse turn.. It’s a big crash. I would see it as a racing incident, the two of them fighting so hard. “ The next round, on the Hungaroring, is programmed at 1is next august. Max Verstappen has never won the Hungarian Grand Prix, while Lewis Hamilton has eight victories there.
Verstappen and Hamilton collide!
The title rivals come together at Copse, pitching Verstappen into a high-speed crash.
The Dutchman was able to walk away but he has been taken to hospital for precautionary checks#BritishGP ?? # F1 pic.twitter.com/ol1s9dRJoa
– Formula 1 (@ F1) July 18, 2021
And Hamilton takes the lead! #BritishGP ?? # F1 pic.twitter.com/KxqCqVQM1Y
– Formula 1 (@ F1) July 18, 2021
More F1 info:
F1 2021 calendar: GP dates and times
F1 2021: who are the drivers involved?
F1 2021 TV program: live, unencrypted, channel, schedule, streaming …
