“He’s very aggressive” – Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen collided during the opening moments of the British Grand Prix, sending Verstappen crashing into the barriers.
Lewis Hamilton won a dramatic home race at Silverstone, cutting the gap to season leader Max Verstappen by 25 points. This was after Verstappen crashed out of the race with a 51G impact as he tried to fight off Hamilton. The Dutchman has since been sent to the hospital as a precaution.
Charles Leclerc took the race lead after the incident and led the entire race apart from the last two laps when Hamilton overtook him in a brilliant duel between the Ferrari and Mercedes.
Hamilton was visibly tired after the race, but that did not stop him from carrying the British flag and running to the fans on the grandstands to thank them. And the conversation between Hamilton and Toto Wolff shows they are firmly back in the title battle with Red Bull.
It’s such a proud moment for me.
Toto Wolff: “Lewis, we never give up, this is still on.”
Lewis Hamilton: “Damn right, Toto, damn right.”
Lewis Hamilton doesn’t agree with penalty
Hamilton was awarded a 10-second penalty for the incident, despite replays suggesting it was a racing incident. He recovered well though, and refused to take blame for the incident, terming Verstappen’s driving “aggressive”.
“I always try to be measured in how I approach, particularly with battling with Max, he’s very aggressive. Then today I was fully alongside him and he didn’t leave me any space.
“But, regardless of whether I agree with the penalty, I take it on the chin and I just kept working. I was like ‘I’m not going to let anything get in the way of the crowd’s enjoyment of the weekend, the national anthem and the British flag’.”
