Max Verstappen calls Lewis Hamilton a stupid idiot on the radio as they tussle in FP2; Red Bull drifts out of the track limits while turning on the apex.
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are expected to fight in the United States Grand Prix, but not so early. In the early minutes of Free Practice 2, both drivers were seen racing against each other.
The two approached the last turn of the track before Hamilton warded Verstappen off the track limit. Agitated with this act, Verstappen was quick to roar “stupid idiot” to Hamilton on his radio. In response, the Dutchman’s race engineer said, “Ignore it, don’t worry about it.”
Additionally, after Turn 1, Verstappen was seen waving a middle finger at Hamilton, prompting David Crofty to say on the mic: “Universal one fingered sign of salute.”
However, the hilarious fact is Christian Horner told the SkySports commentators that Verstappen meant to say “he was first in the queue” with the gesture.
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Competition intensifying
Both Red Bull and Mercedes are trying to time a better timing on the track. Though the first free practice went in Mercedes name, the Milton-Keynes-based team also showed some pace.
However, such displays of aggression in free practices only show what awaits the rest of the weekend. It also seems that Mercedes stepped onto the track to bully its competitors on that track.
On the other hand, Verstappen seemed to be agitated with the incident and asked to be boxed without doing a quali sim. “I’m boxing. **** this,” says the championship leader. He does then pit. “Let’s just get the long runs done here. I’m over this short run.”
Also read: Lewis Hamilton lacks ‘inner-confidence’; Christain Horner takes sly dig at 7 time world champion
