Lewis Hamilton relished his battle with Charles Leclerc in Silverstone and compared it to his fight against Max Verstappen last year.
Last year’s British GP saw a very infamous incident on the opening lap, when Hamilton and Verstappen made contact at Copse corner. The Red Bull driver came off worse, as he suffered a 51G impact with the barriers, whereas Hamilton won the race.
There was a lot of debate as to who was at fault, with multiple people having different claims about this incident. Hamilton however, had a clear stance on the matter when he called Verstappen ‘too aggressive’.
Thirteen podium finishes at Silverstone, including 10 in a row
No other driver has more podiums at a single racetrack#BritishGP #F1 @LewisHamilton pic.twitter.com/UhRtfkhVhN
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 3, 2022
This year’s race in Silverstone saw brilliant wheel to wheel racing between Hamilton, Leclerc and Sergio Perez. After a late safety car restart, the three of them treated fans with mesmerizing racing action for about 10 laps.
Hamilton managed to pass a resilient Leclerc to take P3, but praised the Monegasque for his brilliant driving display. Perez meanwhile finished behind race winner Carlos Sainz, in P2.
Also read: Watch Lewis Hamilton, Nigel Mansell and Sebastian Vettel gather ahead of British GP in Silverstone
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton went through Copse with ‘no problem’
Leclerc won’t be happy with his result in Silverstone on Sunday. Verstappen suffered car damage early on in the race, which all but ended his hopes of winning. The Ferrari driver had a golden opportunity to cut the lead to the Dutchman at the top of the standings.
Instead, yet another strategy mix-up forced him to give up a podium place, as he finished P4. In spite of that, seven-time World Champion and home town hero Hamilton was full of praise towards him. He emphasized on the fact that he and Leclerc battled perfectly, without making contact, unlike Verstappen last year.
#BritishGP 🇬🇧: Lewis Hamilton on Charles Leclerc: “Charles did a great job. What a great battle, very sensible driver, clearly a lot different to what I experienced last year. Copse for example, the two of us went through no problem.”
— deni (@fiagirly) July 3, 2022
“Charles did a great job,” Hamilton said.” What a great battle, very sensible driver, clearly a lot different to what I experienced last year. Copse for example, the two of us went through no problem.”
This was Hamilton throwing shade at Verstappen, with whom he shared multiple on track tussles in the 2021 season. According to the Brit however, Leclerc is a more sensible driver, who managed to battle with him without making contact.