“I hope you’re never my team boss!” – Lewis Hamilton wasn’t too pleased with Max Verstappen after his comments on Romain Grosjean.
Max Verstappen has made a reputation for himself of speaking more than he should. And after the horrific crash involving Grosjean, Verstappen got involved in yet another controversy by suggesting he will kick out a driver if he wouldn’t want to continue with the race after a crash like Grosjean’s. He has now naturally come out to issue his clarification, albeit a weak one.
“I think people misunderstood what I meant. What I was trying to say is that as drivers we know the risks when we get in the car and if anyone has doubts they should consider stopping racing.”
“There is nothing wrong with that if you feel uncomfortable to race but we are part of a team and they rely on us to do our job which is driving the car. Had Romain not walked away obviously things would have been very different on Sunday.
Full transcript of exchange involving Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton
Question: “To Lewis and Max if they could each answer. Do you think drivers should… given what happened and thankfully, Romain is relatively fine, but given what happened and the shock of seeing that, do you think drivers should be given the option, whether they want to race, continue that race?”
Hamilton: “I don’t think so. I mean, we’re not the safety regulators. So we’re here to do a job and we rely on the FIA who are aware of safety and we trust them implicitly. So, no, I do not think so.”
Verstappen: “I don’t get why you wouldn’t race. If I would be the team boss I would kick him out of the seat.”
Hamilton: “Hmm?”
Verstappen: “If the guy wouldn’t race, if I would be the team boss I would tell him ‘then you never sit in the seat again’.”
Hamilton: “I hope you’re never my team boss…”
Verstappen: “I hope I will never be a team boss anyway!”
Hamilton: “I feel sorry for anyone that is going to be your driver in the future!”
