“I was really on the edge of grip”– Max Verstappen claims he took safer option while forcing Lewis Hamilton off the track in Brazil

Tanish Chachra | 15/11/2021
"I was really on the edge of grip"– Max Verstappen claims he took safer option while forcing Lewis Hamilton off the track in Brazil

Max Verstappen claims he took a safer option by going wide and forcing Lewis Hamilton out of the track limits at Interlagos.

Lewis Hamilton was hunting Max Verstappen during the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. In the process, the Briton came close several times to the Red Bull ace before finally overtaking him.

One such incident forced Hamilton to go out of the track limits. The Dutchman ran wide at Descida do Lago corner, forcing Hamilton to avoid the contact.

This incident prompted the FIA to look into the matter. But soon, they declared no investigation was needed. After the race, Mercedes displayed that they were baffled by the outcome.

However, Verstappen claims that he had only this safe option. The 24-year-old explains that he was losing grip and is happy that stewards took that decision.

“So I was really on the edge of grip, so that’s why I think I was already not fully on the apex. And it’s a safer way, of just running a bit wide there.”

“I was, of course, happy that the stewards decided that we could just keep on racing, because I think the racing in general was really good today,” said Verstappen.

Also read: Pietro Fittipaldi explains why Brazilians love and support Lewis Hamilton

Nothing like Max Verstappen Silverstone incident

Verstappen was asked whether his actions were similar to Hamilton tagging him at Silverstone, leading to a massive 51G collision. In response, the Dutch sensation fully rejected the comparison.

“I don’t think it’s the same. It’s a completely different corner as well, so there’s not much more to comment. It’s not the same,” said Verstappen.

In the end, Verstappen lost the race against Hamilton, and now his lead in the drivers’ championship standings is only 14 points. It could be hard for him to defend this marginal difference with three races remaining.

Also read: Red Bull boss Christian Horner admits they can’t compete against Mercedes straight-line speed; threat to championship chances

Post Edited By: Tanish Chachra
Lewis Hamilton Max Verstappen Mercedes Red Bull

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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