Lewis Hamilton disagrees with Max Verstappen: “It was pretty good racing”

Max Verstappen was swearing like a sailor on the Madring during the Spanish Grand Prix. The Red Bull Racing star had fought his way to the front in the chaos of the start, but had also gone off the track in the process. And he was convinced that if he hadn’t gone off the track, there would have been a crash. He vented his frustration with a barrage of expletives when his race engineer, Gianpiero ‘GP’ Lambiase, instructed him to give back the position he’d gained by cutting the corner.

In doing so, he also described the racing as ‘Mickey Mouse racing’; even after the chequered flag had fallen, he didn’t mince his words and explained in his usual direct manner: ‘I would have damaged the car if I’d stayed on the track. Then victory wouldn’t have been within reach either. It’s as simple as that. I just did my own thing in the first corner, but Lewis tried to get past in the first two hairpin bends, caught the kerbs with his underbody and bounced back onto the track. That’s why I had to leave the track. If I’d stayed there, there would definitely have been a crash. So my race could have been over as early as the second corner.”

Hamilton, who had to retire from the race on lap seven due to brake problems, saw it quite differently. When asked about it, he waved it off: “Well, that was pretty good racing, to be honest.” When it was suggested that Verstappen had said this out of frustration at having to give up the position, he simply replied: “Yes.”

The seven-time world champion described the scene at the start as follows: “I got off to a good start. I didn’t see Max and then it was a battle.” Speaking about his brake problems, he said: “I started braking for the fifth corner and the car slowed down. Then there was a jolt in the brake pedal and the car wasn’t braking as hard as usual. That’s why I carried too much speed and hit the track barrier. After that, the pedal returned to normal and everything was fine. But after a few corners, the problem was back. I really don’t know where that came from.”

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