“A show is put on that poor Hamilton is suddenly injured”– Helmut Marko claims Lewis Hamilton’s injury in Italy was a pure show

“A show is put on that poor Hamilton is suddenly injured”– Helmut Marko says Max Verstappen only marched off after Lewis Hamilton tried to reverse.

The collision between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton appeared to have almost injured the Briton, as Verstappen’s Red Bull rear tyres partially landed on Hamilton’s head, and the halo prevented any directed contact.

Hamilton complained about the physical implications of the impact, but he was still fine. However, Red Bull chief Helmut Marko feels it was a show.

Marko told Austria’s OE24: “Verstappen had already got out when Hamilton tried to get out of the gravel with the reverse gear,” he said. “The medical car saw this and drove on,” he added.

“And then a show is put on that poor Hamilton is suddenly injured.” he added. However, the Austrian, initially a fierce critic of the Halo, admits that it did its job on Sunday.

“Even if I was sceptical at first, I have to admit… just like in the fire accident (with Romain Grosjean in Bahrain), the halo was decisive in ensuring that things turned out so well.”

Max Verstappen was clear

Marko believes that hadn’t Red Bull made a horrendous pitstop in Monza, Hamilton wouldn’t even be his zone to create a crash that happened.

“I was most annoyed about our botched pit stop. That’s the only reason Hamilton got into Verstappen’s zone. It was a normal racing accident,” he insisted, “and all the stories surrounding it have been pulled out of thin air by Mercedes.”

Nevertheless, the FIA decided to find Verstappen more guilty of the crash and has been awarded a three-place grid penalty for the Russian GP, which is at the end of the month.

It only remains to be seen whether Red Bull would also use this opportunity to take the engine penalty.