.Max Verstappen had a difficult 2022 Sao Paolo GP and has been under heavy fire for how his afternoon unfolded. He is being heavily criticized for not allowing teammate Sergio Perez to pass in the closing stages, especially considering the fact that Checo is in a fight for P2 in the Drivers’ Championship.
However, Verstappen generated controversy way before his incident with Perez took place. We saw a safety car come out on the opening lap after Kevin Magnussen and Daniel Ricciardo collided. After the restart, Verstappen tried to make a move around Hamilton but ended up crashing into him. Verstappen’s RB18 took more damage as he had to pit for a front wing change and Hamilton was concerned about the floor of his car.
Thankfully for Hamilton, the damage sustained by the W13 did not affect his pace whatsoever. The seven-time World Champion put in one of his best performances this season to finish P2 behind teammate George Russell.
After the race, however, Hamilton admitted that he felt indifferent to what Verstappen did out on track because it didn’t surprise him.
Lewis Hamilton expects Max Verstappen to be aggressive
Hamilton and Verstappen were Title rivals in 2021 and the two had multiple clashes on track. This season, they fought on different ends so we didn’t see as many incidents between the two. Recently, however, Mercedes have upped their pace quite a bit and were dominant in Interlagos on Sunday.
Fans were once again treated to wheel to wheel action between Hamilton and Verstappen, and unsurprisingly, it ended in controversy and drama. Despite the clash, Hamilton was not very surprised because he expected Verstappen to be aggressive while racing against him.
After the race, when he was asked about his contact with the 25-year-old, he replied, ““What can I say? you know how it is with Max.”
Verstappen had a very difficult race following his clash with the Mercedes star as he dropped to last position. However, he made up quite a few places to finish sixth ahead of Perez in seventh.
Fans slam Verstappen for not letting Perez through
Verstappen already has the 2022 Title secured and Red Bull have their Constructors’ Title sealed. The only person in the team still fighting for a place in Sergio Perez. The Mexican driver is desperate to finish second in the Championship.
Unfortunately, Verstappen did not take that into account when Red Bull asked him to let Perez through in the closing stages. The Dutchman said that ‘he had his reasons’ but fans did not take too kindly to this. He was criticized and slammed on social media by fans, pundits and other members of the F1 community after the race.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner insists that they have sorted the problem out internally. He added that Verstappen will help Perez in any way possible at the season finale next week.
