Max Verstappen seemed visibly annoyed with a reporter who brought up the possibility of a first-lap crash with Lewis Hamilton on Sunday.
The Championship rivals lock out the front row of the grid ahead of lights out in COTA. Verstappen took pole position in Saturday’s Qualifying session, followed by Hamilton in P2.
The two have had several clashes on track this season. Max has had two DNFs due to collisions with Lewis in Silverstone and Monza. This has led to a lot of people predicting another incident between the two on Sunday in Austin.
Max Verstappen takes pole! 👏
An amazing final flying lap means he will start ahead of Lewis Hamilton (P2) and Sergio Perez (P3)#USGP 🇺🇸 #F1 pic.twitter.com/oQI5cs2WA5
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 23, 2021
Max Verstappen, however, seemed to be angry when this topic was brought up by a reporter ahead of the race. In an interview after the qualifying session, the Red Bull driver said that both himself and Lewis were professionals.
Both of them got annoyed because the reporters kept bringing it up all the time. “Like we always try, as professionals. I don’t see why we always have to keep bringing this up,” Verstappen said
“It’s not like we are the only ones who have touched, you know, in this sport and these things happen, unfortunately, but I think we are on the front row again, and everyone is just expecting a great race, and that’s what we also hope, I believe, as drivers.
I hope we both make it through the first corner, says Lewis Hamilton
“Yeah, I hope we’ll make it through Turn One, and we get a good race,” Hamilton said. “I don’t think it’s all decided on Turn 1. It is all fun and games. We are going to have fun and give it everything as you would expect.
“It is no real difference to any other part of the season,” the seven-time World Champion added. Max Verstappen is currently leading the Championship by 6 points ahead of the US GP.
He put in a strong performance on Sunday that saw him get his first pole in Texas. The Dutchman will be looking to convert his pole into a win and strengthen his lead at the top. Lewis Hamilton is meanwhile looking to get what will be his 6th win in COTA.
