Verstappen forced Hamilton off the track during last November’s Brazilian Grand Prix, but first the stewards and then FIA race director Michael Masi decided not to interfere in the matter, so Verstappen incident was not investigated.
After the race, Mercedes feared that the FIA’s lack of firmness would set a bad precedent by allowing drivers from then on to leave the track to gain or hold position.
At Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Verstappen pushed Hamilton into Turn 1 on two separate occasions to stay ahead of Mercedes, with the FIA ordering him to return position on both occasions. Hamilton also did the same on one occasion, without reprimand or penalty.
The second time Verstappen and Hamilton collided midway down one of the straights in an apparent miscommunication to return to lead, Verstappen was handed a 10-second penalty after the race for “erratic” braking.
This was the latest episode in a long list of incidents with both drivers as protagonists, with the shocking accidents at Silverstone and Monza among others.
Hamilton , who said after the race that Verstappen was “over the limit” with some of his actions, believes the lack of clear guidance from race management has further thinned the waters and opened the door to more situations. polemics.
The Briton from Mercedes said every other driver on the grid understands they can’t overtake off the track and hold position, but dropped that the consensus “doesn’t apply to one of us”, directly implicating Verstappen.
“I don’t think it’s changed the way I drive,” Hamilton said.
“I think we have seen several incidents this year, even in Brazil, where we were supposed to do our races inside the white lines, but the rules have not been clear from the stewards and those things have been allowed, so that continues.”
“From what I understand I know you can’t overtake someone, go off track and then stay in the same position, I think that’s well known to all the drivers, but I guess it doesn’t apply to one of us.
Hamilton also added: “Clearly others around us were willing to push everything to the limit to overtake, so I tried to stay on track and stay out of trouble, which meant avoiding incidents if I could.”
Immediately after the collision on the straight, from which both drivers somehow escaped without taking terminal damage, Hamilton called Verstappen “crazy” over the team radio as his nerves exploded.
Asked if he was worried that the crash between the two could put him out of the race and thus leave the world title in Verstappen’s hands, Hamilton admitted he was, but wanted to make it clear that his controversial comments would be they did in the heat of battle before they could collect themselves again.
“I definitely feel like there were scenarios where that was the case. This is not the first time I’ve had to avoid a collision and yes, that’s how I felt at the moment,” said the Briton .
“But you know, sometimes you say things hot and then colder maybe you feel different, but at the time that’s how it felt,” Hamilton concluded after the Jeddah race.
