Naomi Schiff recently called out the foul play by Max Verstappen on Lewis Hamilton at the 2023 Austrian GP Sprint shootout. Toto Wolff had the same belief that the Dutch driver intentionally blocked Hamilton, which resulted in him getting knocked out in P18.
As the Red Bull Ring race and qualification saw multiple penalties for track limits and impedance, Hamilton fans called FIA out to do the same with Verstappen for his actions on the British driver.
After the Mercedes star unintentionally ruined the two-time world champion’s flying lap, footage showed that the Dutch driver impeded the 38-year-old, intentionally or unintentionally, as he could not set out for the final shot at the qualification.
However, Mercedes didn’t go to FIA against this as they believed nothing would have changed, and Hamilton would have been out. But for some, the Red Bull driver showed bad sportsmanship.
Schiff and Wolff believe Hamilton was intentionally blocked
The Sky Sports F1 pundit believes it was intentional on the part of the 25-year-old driver to block the seven-time world champion to bring out his revenge in the game.
Wolff, on the other hand, called it a revenge foul. Agreeing with that, Schiff said as per PlanetF1, “It’s quite clear that that’s exactly what it was.”
Lewis Hamilton had problems trying to set a lap at the end of SQ1, he ended up with Verstappen alongside him as he was starting his final try pic.twitter.com/v32puJzfab
— Peugeot 9X8 (@Peugeot9X8) July 1, 2023
“It’s just unfortunate for Lewis because, for him, it was not an intentional move from him. Of course, he impeded Max by being there, but Max was clearly a lot more intentional about what he was doing,” the Rwandan racing driver further asserted.
Mercedes boss Wolff didn’t like the action by Verstappen either. He believed that the turn 1 action by the Dutchman was revenge, as he did that to make sure Hamilton’s lap got ruined.
Hamilton and Schiff’s connection
Lewis Hamilton and Naomi Schiff have always shared an amicable relationship. Even though they are from different professions, their work is ultimately related to F1.
Apart from doing numerous interviews together, Hamilton was once reported to have stood up for Schiff when she was subjected to bullying.
The seven-time world champion stated that the Rwandan motorsport driver is qualified for the position in the Sky Sports team and everyone should open up to different representatives with wide arms.
