Max Verstappen accuses Mercedes of showing their ‘true nature’ after Lewis Hamilton clash

Formula 1 title rivals Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton clashed in Brazil
AFP via Getty Images

Max Verstappen believes Mercedes have finally shown their “true nature” in the ongoing row over driving Lewis Hamilton off track in Brazil last week.

Verstappen ran wide fighting for the lead at Interlagos around turn four on lap 48, sending both him and Hamilton off the circuit.

Race stewards decided there was no punishment due to the Dutchman but Mercedes launched a right to review after downloaded footage from the front-facing camera of Verstappen’s Red Bull showed what it deemed driving that was not within the sporting regulations.

Mercedes put its case to the FIA on Thursday and a decision is due in Qatar later on Friday over whether Verstappen might face a sanction, which could potentially equate to a time penalty from Brazil or else a grid drop this weekend.

Whatever the outcome, Verstappen, who remains adamant he was not guilty of any wrongdoing, said it shone a negative light on his title rival.

“Of course, you can see their true nature coming out,” he said. “It’s not my team, of course, so I don’t have to deal with that. But that’s when you show your true colours and show who you really are.

“I think it’s important for us to just concentrate on ourselves and stay focused, like we always have been doing. So that’s what we will do for the next races as well.”

The 2021 title race hangs precariously in the balance. Verstappen still leads but had his advantage cut down to 14 points and any possible penalty could have a seismic impact on the championship with just three races left over the next four weeks.

Hamilton and Verstappen will go head to head in Qatar this weekend before a weekend break, and then back-to-back grands prix in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi.

Getty Images

Expectations will be for another race classic after Hamilton twice scythed his way through the field in Brazil: first from the back of the grid to fifth in the sprint race and then from 10th to first in the race itself after being handed a five-place penalty for an engine change.

Verstappen, though, questioned the lack of severity for that penalty on his title rival, arguing it should have been as much as 10 places as it is for the first engine change outside the allotted allowance per driver per season.

“The first time it’s 10 places back and, after that, it’s five and I find that a bit illogical,” he said. “If you keep taking engine penalties, I think it should just stay the same [10 not five] because you’re going over the same limit all the time.

“Yes, that’s something that could be looked at because, in Brazil, you clearly saw the rest of the teams didn’t have a chance to do anything against us [both Red Bull and Mercedes]. So, a penalty like that is not really that big a deal.”

Verstappen and Red Bull have been adamant that there was no wrongdoing during the pair’s off-track outing in Brazil, describing it as a racing incident. But Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff called for a five-second penalty for Verstappen, in his mind, breaking the sporting rules with the move.

Despite Mercedes’ ongoing stance, Verstappen reiterated his position at the start of the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix weekend. He said: “I don’t expect any punishment to happen because I thought it was hard and fair racing.”

This is F1’s first race in Qatar as it will be in Saudi Arabia in two weekends’ time, and Hamilton called on the sport to raise human rights issues.

He said: “As sports go to these places, they are duty bound to raise awareness for these issues. These places need scrutiny. Equal rights is a serious issue.

“I am aware that in this place they are trying to make steps and it can’t change overnight. But I still think we can bring a spotlight to it and create that scrutiny and that pressure that can hopefully create change.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in