F1 fans opined that Max Verstappen made an intentional move in the Sprint shoot as he impeded Lewis Hamilton’s attempt to move into the SQ2.
The Mercedes driver failed to make it past the first hurdle in the SQ1 as he finished P18 after not getting a clean lap in the session. While starting his final attempt, he first got in the way of Verstappen, who was finishing his lap. But going into Turn 1, it was the Red Bull driver, who got in the way of Hamilton.
While speaking about the situation with Sky Sports F1, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff claimed that it was a ‘revenge foul’ from the world champion, saying:
“The mistake happened on our side. The communication between us and Lewis didn’t give him the right information to get out of Max’s way. I think no one wants to be in anybody’s way because if you impede, you’re getting penalized, so that was not the aim.”
“On the other side, Turn 1 was a revenge foul [by Verstappen]. It was just to make sure that his [Hamilton’s] lap was ruined. So one was not intentional, the other one was intentional – but who cares? In the end, we looked at whether it was going to change our race or not… But I think they’re going to talk about it at the drivers’ briefing next week.”
F1 fans too believed that Max Verstappen got in the way of Lewis Hamilton, with one fan claiming it was 100% the Dutchman’s fault, saying:
“100% intentional.”
Here are some more reactions:
Max Verstappen gives his take on the Lewis Hamilton situation in the SQ1
The 25-year-old driver claimed that the seven-time world champion blocked him first, which cost him lap time, and stated that the situation was not ‘ideal’ for both drivers.
Max Verstappen said:
“He blocked me into the last corner, so I had to brake more and I lost like three-tenths. So that wasn’t ideal, and I think not correct. There was still a few seconds left on the clock so I didn’t know if my lap time was going to be safe and I wanted to continue. But ran out of time, and space, with the two cars like that, which was a bit of a shame.”
It is certainly interesting that the stewards and the FIA did not really look at the situation and investigate the matter at all.