“He definitely squeezed him off the track!”: Watch Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen almost collide at Interlagos in a thrilling Sao Paolo Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were inches away from making contact during their battle for the lead in Interlagos. 

The Sao Paolo Grand Prix has delivered exactly what it promised. Hamilton has showed unreal pace all weekend long and he carried that on in today’s race. The Briton started the race from P10 but made his way up to the front of the grid in just a few laps time.

Max Verstappen spent the majority of the race trying to defend his position from Hamilton. At the end of the second DRS zone, Hamilton tried to take the outside line to overtake Max Verstappen. The Red Bull driver reacted quickly by turning left and “squeezing the Mercedes off track”.

The two drivers have made contact earlier this season in Silverstone and Monza. Both those instances led to a DNF for the Red Bull driver. As soon as the title rivals came wheel to wheel with each other on Sunday, fans expected them to collide again.

And, it nearly happened.

Also read: Toto Wolff says decision by FIA to disqualify Lewis Hamilton from qualifying sets dangerous precedent for Formula 1

“Of course there was no penalty”- Hamilton said sarcastically

The incident was noted by the stewards. However, they decided that no investigation was necessary for the same. This was met with angry reaction from the Mercedes pit wall.

Hamilton’s race engineer Peter Bonnington informed him about the verdict. And as expected, Lewis reacted furiously by saying “Of course! Of course!”

It is tough for fans to see what exactly happened. That is because the TV cameras did not show Verstappen’s onboard. Did the Dutchman turn left to force Lewis off track intentionally? Well, only FIA and Michael Masi know for sure.