Max Verstappen says he is feeling fine a week on from his bruising crash in the British Grand Prix but is unwilling to get involved in the row over his collision with Lewis Hamilton.
He made the comments in a press release issued by Red Bull shortly after it emerged the team had officially requested the FIA stewards review the decision they issued on the crash. Hamilton was given a 10-second time penalty, but was still able to win the race.“I don’t have much to say on all the media hype,” said Verstappen. On Friday, the same day Red Bull submitted its petition to the FIA, the team published a lengthy column by principal Christian Horner repeating its criticism of Hamilton’s driving and Mercedes’ handling of the incident.
“To be honest I am not interested in getting involved in any of that,” he continued. “I know what happened at Silverstone as I was in the car and obviously I feel a certain way about how my race ended but now I’m just focusing on making sure we are the best we can be on track so we can stay ahead in the championship.
“The team can take care of the official side of things and anything that needs looking into after the crash but my job is the same as always – to be the best I can and try to win on Sunday.”
Verstappen said he is fit enough to race again following his 51G hit with the Copse barrier. “I’m a little bruised, of course but that’s normal after such a big impact but I’m training and feeling good.
“I did a 24-hour sim race this week and it was a good test to see how my body would react to spending time sat in one position and behind screens for a long time, I felt absolutely fine which makes me feel positive heading into the weekend. I’m definitely ready to go again.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
2021 F1 season
- Las Vegas race backers looking to extend F1 deal beyond 2025
- Why Mercedes put ‘a reminder of joy and pain’ on display in their factory lobby
- Verdict on error in GT race suggests Mercedes would have lost 2021 Abu Dhabi GP appeal
- Title ‘stolen’ from Mercedes made us ‘underdogs people cheer for’ – Wolff
- Red Bull Racing spent £230m during Verstappen’s title-winning 2021 campaign
Robbie (@robbie)
27th July 2021, 17:03
Good stuff Max. Go get ’em on the track. Put ’em in your mirrors.
Adrian Hancox (@ahxshades)
27th July 2021, 19:42
He will be as interested as his boss tells him to be.
anon
27th July 2021, 20:59
I am disappointed that you are behaving in this manner, given that it smacks of the wider corrosive effects of the headlines being thrown around right now.
You used to be more level headed and respectful of others, but now there seems to be a much more antagonist tone to your posts that didn’t use to be there. I thought you were above this sort of behaviour, but it seems not.
It really is depressing how appalling the fan base has become. Though you are not the worst by any means, it seems that trying to keep some sense of neutrality is increasingly seen as a problem – the rhetoric coming out of either being for your side or being an enemy is something I have not seen reach such toxic levels in decades, and mirrors the similar poison flowing through too much of life.
The attitude of so many here smacks more of the mob mentality of those football hooligans that many here claimed to be better than, but really aren’t. It increasingly makes me wonder, like a number of others, if it really is worth staying in a community being so utterly destroyed by those so infatuated with their favourite that they are increasingly losing sense of normality.
The way this hysteria is being driven by those who should know better, the more that I worry that it won’t be long before someone takes it too far. I just hope that it calms down before we end up with fighting in the stands, or worse, because the way some are reacting makes me worried that words will soon turn to blows. You, I hope, can be reasoned with, but it seems fewer here can be.
RicoD (@ricod)
27th July 2021, 22:09
Well said @anon. Why do so many have to be so extremely opinionated on everything…
More and more shouting is in and nuance is out…
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
27th July 2021, 23:54
Seems a bit of an overreaction for you, what did he say that was so bad? Go get them on track, that’s what people want to see, meanwhile the team goes legal ways. Put them in your mirrors means overtaking, I don’t get what the problem is.
anon
28th July 2021, 22:53
@esploratore1 it was not so much this particular post, but more the ones later in this thread where, after complaining that he’d seen quite a few negative posts against Red Bull, he indicated that he felt it acceptable to stoop to posting in a similar manner as well.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
29th July 2021, 1:16
Ahh, ok, had only focused on this post, so was confused.
Dave
28th July 2021, 9:03
The banned former site member who disliked Alonso has been dealt with now. Now Robbie will be dealt with.
erikje
28th July 2021, 13:40
So discriminating someone who has a different opinion and does not say a wrong syllable.
Great stuff.
Dave
28th July 2021, 15:30
Well at least you’ve fixed your grammar!
anon
28th July 2021, 23:08
Dave, I don’t want Robbie to be “dealt with” – I’d rather just see more of the sense of self-awareness that I feel has been sapped away from his posts as the overly emotional media messages that have been promoted recently have eroded a sense of nuance and pushed posters towards more overly emotional responses.
As for the person who really is a troll, no, they’ve not been dealt with – that is a new account they were allowed to register after their old one was blocked for harassing and abusing other posters.
Dave
29th July 2021, 22:30
Okay, so it’s clear. Robbie’s not a threat and I rest my case.
And in response to the latter who you said is a troll – yeah, he hasn’t been around since December 2020. That person’s gone…for now. I’ve also heard your suspicions about him.
petebaldwin (@)
28th July 2021, 11:57
I sense you catastrophically misunderstood what Robbie meant there….
I agree with your overall point though. F1 fans have changed dramatically over the last 10 years from fans of the sport to fans of specific drivers. It’s much more like following a football team now in that you pick your side and are then so blinded by bias that you can no longer have a sensible discussion.
I don’t necessarily blame the media or headlines. It’s just how people are these days. If you pick any topic, people choose their side, dig their heels in and argue that they’re right. How often (in any discussion online) do you see someone back down in an argument and admit the other person is right? “Yeah fair enough, I hadn’t thought of that…” Once or twice in a decade? Probably not even that…
Robbie (@robbie)
28th July 2021, 14:59
@petebaldwin I saw anon’s post later in the day yesterday, and yeah, I don’t really know what to say, and yet I can think of lots of things to say but just don’t know yet if I’ll bother, but I think ‘catastrophically misunderstood’ is about the best way to sum it up in short form.
erikje
28th July 2021, 13:42
You do know your reaction to this post is exactly that!
LH Fans are completely lost here.
Darryn Smith (@darryn)
28th July 2021, 18:15
Isn’t “Robbie” just a Redbull shill?
erikje
28th July 2021, 21:14
(@darryn) I see at least one Hamilton shill here.
Stop that polarisation and stay on topic
BasCB (@bascb)
27th July 2021, 22:15
A bit of a strange one though @robbie.
What “media hype” when in fact it is just media asking about something HIS OWN TEAM have decided to do (requesting a review)?
Sure, I agree that it is perfectly fine and certainly the best thing to do for Max to just focus on performing at the highest level possible here and for the rest of the season, without dwelling on what happened or could have happened. But he will have to deal with it when Red Bull made sure we were still talking about this?
Robbie (@robbie)
28th July 2021, 15:11
@bascb I am assuming the media hype Max is referring to is exactly such as is being displayed here on this site and elsewhere globally since Silverstone, that being the debate about the degree of fault that lies between Max and LH, or the degree to which it was ‘just’ a racing incident, in spite of, or perhaps because of the stewards ruling. I’ll assume until hearing more from Max, but based on what he is saying above about what he knows from being in the car etc, that there is no debate for him in so far as he did nothing wrong and LH was at fault and hence was penalized. I don’t think Max is talking necessarily about media hype surrounding his team requesting a review.
Yes of course Max will be inundated by media on this, and that was going to happen this coming weekend whether or not RBR requested a review. But I just expect Max to answer in a fairly mundane way and not distract himself with getting into the same kinds of debates we have seen that range from the stewards being completely wrong in penalizing LH, to the stewards not penalizing LH enough, and all that entails in terms of debate as to why on either side. I expect Max to just say things like he feels he didn’t do anything wrong, LH was the penalized one, but what’s done is done, and now he’s concentrating on expanding his lead in the Championship as always.
Mayrton
28th July 2021, 7:47
Yes, just as I expected from Max. People should know by now he is just interested in racing. Besides, as he says, there are people better outfitted for handling cases like this. Let him do the driving.
carbon_fibre (@carbon_fibre)
27th July 2021, 17:10
No sorry, I don’t like this. Red Bull is freaking out but Max is staying quiet? Red Bull used Verstappen’s condition to appeal to emotion right after the crash. Hamilton answered the questions of journalists many times. Max has some explaining to do as well.
Robbie (@robbie)
27th July 2021, 17:24
No they’re not ‘freaking out’ and I think likely for Max, the fact that LH was the penalized one probably speaks volumes as far as he is concerned. I like that Max is just focused on his job, no different than he was doing at Silverstone. Anyway of course as soon as Max is present in front of media at Hungary of course he will have to answer the questions.
Andy (@andyfromsandy)
27th July 2021, 17:31
Which questions exactly?
Robbie (@robbie)
27th July 2021, 17:38
I would think obviously Max: Were you at fault for the collision with Lewis? Max: What do you think of Lewis’s penalty? Max: Will you drive any differently now? Max: Have you spoken to Lewis? Max: Is that a voodoo doll in your hand?
Andy (@andyfromsandy)
27th July 2021, 17:41
I do my talking on the track.
carbon_fibre (@carbon_fibre)
27th July 2021, 18:16
Why does Verstappen think that Hamilton’s celebrations were disrespectful and unsportsmanlike?
Jelle van der Meer (@)
27th July 2021, 18:29
Because they were, knocking your opponent into the barriers and sending him to the hospital should be sufficient reason for any sane person to realize that celebrations shouldn’t be over the top like Hamilton did.
ian dearing
27th July 2021, 18:51
Because the senior RB Manager who told Merc and the FIA that Max was uninjured and fine when they enquired about celebrations, told his own driver something completely different? Which was maybe why Jos deleted some of his post race social media posts?
Just a guess though
Kevin Moore
27th July 2021, 19:55
Horner and Reb Bull need to get over it, it happens and if it was Max who put Lewis in the wall (like he’s nearly done multiple times, only for Lewis to avoid the collision because he’s taken evasive action) then that excuse for a man Horner would be saying its a racing incident. Just get over it you whinging whining ponce…
mystic one (@mysticus)
28th July 2021, 0:35
@Kevin Moore
i think max will be in a situation (due to all these provocations by his team and media) where he will take ham out (regardless of severity) and i have strong feeling max will get a much harsher penalty resulting from RBR’s own propaganda, and RBR will dispute it with evidence from silverstone forgetting that they wanted something serious done (like harsher penalties – in a similar fashion to bahrain incident)… hopefully we dont have to experience this much silliness, but it is boiling right now.
Mayrton
28th July 2021, 8:00
Dont agree at all. Max will focus on not having to fight Lewis by simply being ahead. Remember Lewis used to tango a lot with Massa? He kept struggling with him while he shouldnt have been battling him at all but be way more upfront. Max wont get distracted from what he is here to do. Win races.
Jelle van der Meer (@)
27th July 2021, 18:04
What explaining does Max have to do?
Lewis hit Max, Lewis got penalized for hitting Max, the only one that has explaining to do is Lewis for not being able to control his car, for missing the Apex, for being too aggressive and for taking to much speed into a corner on dirty tires and under an angle that would not allow him to make the corner.
So far this season only 1 of the 2 championship contenders has acted mature and in the interest of the sport and it ain’t Lewis.
carbon_fibre (@carbon_fibre)
27th July 2021, 18:14
The team represents the driver and the driver represents the team. It’s not a good look when the one is very vocal but the other quiet.
Robbie (@robbie)
27th July 2021, 18:29
@carbon_fibre The driver’s job is on the track. It’s not a good look when he let’s distractions take something away from that job, for which he is paid.
Mayrton
28th July 2021, 8:03
No, its frustrating you mean. I think it is an excellent approach. Why would you let the guy in the mail room deal (that got hit by an external delivery guy) with legal affairs within a team? And to the press he can just say: I was hit, the police gave a penalty and my employer is disputing the penalty. In the meantime I will just focus on delivering the mail. Makes total sense.
Pula
28th July 2021, 12:49
I think Max will talk, but only to the stewards, like he is asked to. Its the smartest thing to do I think, not to talk to the media about this. You can’t do it right anyway, so whats the point.
A M (@amam)
27th July 2021, 20:08
Max, Masi/stewards said Hamilton wasn’t wholly to blame, so what do you think you did wrong? Why do you think the stewards didn’t deem Hamilton entirely to blame?
Mayrton
28th July 2021, 8:04
Who cares? Max job is to win Hungary, not to install committees, initiatives or legal actions.
DrG (@drgraham)
27th July 2021, 20:45
Your boy came off worst..
Following a desperate move
On a man who was always going to prove it’s a whole different thing being the hunter in a championship, something he knows a lot about unless your red bull blind and eventually showing, sorry enough is enough.
At what point did this work well for Max?
Well frankly I can’t think why he would keep shtum?
matt
28th July 2021, 6:45
lewis was in full control of his car.
he didnt lock up,or do strange steering wheel movements.
at no point was lewis not in control of his car.
the problem was,max fully turned into lewis when lewis front wing was level with max front right wheel.
max knew lewis was there and should have been more cautious.
Bob
28th July 2021, 10:02
I agree, Lewis was in full control of his car, including the manoeuvre that caused Max to lose traction and spin off into the barrier…
Shameful driving from a desperate Hamilton.
Pula
28th July 2021, 12:51
+ 100
Mayrton
28th July 2021, 7:54
Why should Max talk at all. He is not a mind games person like Lewis. He will talk on the track. Lewis’ Rosberg approach wont work on him. And the press? They are completely bonkers so wouldnt waste time on them. He’ll just say he wants to look forwards and will do the talking on track.
Adam Hardwick (@fluxsource)
29th July 2021, 11:20
You’re right, Max doesn’t play mind games – he doesn’t have the capacity. He’sjust a bully who tries to start fights in the paddock.
Ajaxn
29th July 2021, 10:12
Verstappen has nothing to learn. He drives by his own rules. He wont be told how to drive or to avoid similar situations reoccuring. So yeah Verstappen ignore the lessons which might be learned through all this.
Whilst he may not have asked for RB to do this, the fact there is to be this meeting with the stewards should be seen as a way to clarify the rules of engagement.
Mike Don Spivey
27th July 2021, 17:21
Max’s position is exactly what I would expect for a true racer.
matt
28th July 2021, 6:47
well after max collision with stroll last season
theres not really much he can say.
Mayrton
28th July 2021, 12:10
You are right. I also remember 2003 when he hit someone. An outrage
Zach (@zakspeedf1team)
27th July 2021, 17:26
He’s smart to stay quiet, after all he turned into Hamilton and he also had much less to lose from a crash that always was more likely to take them both out.
Jelle van der Meer (@)
27th July 2021, 18:07
Max ran a wider than normal line through Copse corner, giving Lewis more than enough space, so what are your expectations? Max not to turn at all?
Lewis didn’t have full control of his car, carried too much speed into the corner, missing the Apex and understeered into Max.
Kevin Moore
27th July 2021, 19:58
Your boy got taught a lesson……he’ll think twice about it next time…..
Bart
27th July 2021, 20:39
There’s a nice analysis at the crashalong channel: www. youtube. com/watch?v=4ikWhv-1w5E
Not only was Max going more than one cars’ width wide at the moment of the crash compared to his Q3 lap, instead orf turning into Lewis he was actually moving away e.g. gaining distance from his Q3 line. But Lewis was moving outward faster still.
Because Max was actually moving away from the race line I wonder why the stewards put part of the blame on him?
It doesn’t make sense.
matt
28th July 2021, 6:50
nonsense”’how was max trying to move away from lewis
when max streering wheel is fully turned towards lewis…that doesnt even make sense.
you can clearly see,max wheel is fully turned to the right,when lewis front wing was level with max front right wheel.
so how exactly was max moving away…..
Mayrton
28th July 2021, 8:09
Seen the slomo footage yes. It is 100% clear Max left plenty of space. I also saw that Ham was further alongside than can be seen at real time speed. So I understand the sense of Ham to make the corner a bit longer/deeper as can be seen when one is in front on the inside and its a slow corner. But you really have to be in front and you really have to make it work. Doing this at a fast corner show lack of intelligence or an active/desperate choice not to care.
bob (@riptide)
27th July 2021, 17:56
I want my team to push this as far as they can to get Hamilton further penalties; but I wont get involved given my reputation as a no compromise driver otherwise I’ll look like a right wuss.
Oxnard (@montalvo)
27th July 2021, 19:01
My god, some people.. He’s saying that he simply doesn’t care about the review, and just wants to he
Oxnard (@montalvo)
27th July 2021, 19:02
My god, some people.. He’s saying that he simply doesn’t care about the review, and just wants to get on with racing, but you twist it to this. Wow, just wow.
ian dearing
27th July 2021, 19:45
Spare me the wows. You think your posting history isn’t available to all? Have you stopped bleating yet about unfair RaceFans are?
Oxnard (@montalvo)
27th July 2021, 20:30
Lol, what? We have a badass over here :’).
ian dearing
27th July 2021, 21:22
Not really a badass. If you want my serious opinion I think Max is embarrassed by the whole RB circus act, and would just rather get back to racing Ham with no quarter given. He almost certainly thinks Ham is to blame, but I expect he is also kicking himself for allowing Ham to dummy him along the old pit straight, and wishing he had given Ham just that inch or two of room that he had available
petebaldwin (@)
28th July 2021, 12:03
@montalvo – Not a badass – just one of the more bias posters on this site. He rarely logs in to hide his own history but you won’t find a single comment that isn’t pro-Hamilton/anti-Max.
ADUB SMALLBLOCK (@waptraveler)
28th July 2021, 1:25
Not going to get into that, but have a question a more knowledgeable person could answer. Max says “ “I did a 24-hour sim race this week”. I’m not clear on that. I doubt he did a single 24 hours. Does he mean he did a TOTAL of 24 hours. Was it a misprint? Just looking for some clarification. Thanks.
Deep Sky
28th July 2021, 2:12
He probably took part in a 24h sim race rotating seats with a few other drivers as done similarly in the past.
Mayrton
28th July 2021, 8:20
He does it with a team. So they alternate the driving. He made a funny remark during it as well showing his sense of humor isnt impacted. His cats were running through the sim and causing issues and ask after their names he gave them by adding it would be more appropriate to call the cats Toto and Lewis these days :-)
Mayrton
28th July 2021, 8:17
What is the problem? Let the racers race. I thought we didnt like Toto and Horner behaving like 4 year olds. Why would you want Max to do that as well. I am relieved he will focus on driving. Lets not forget Max is not RedBull. He may drive for them now, but things change.
Mark in Florida
28th July 2021, 15:37
Max can’t race and push it hard like Lewis did to him. If he even touches Lewis it will be looked at as some kind of revenge for wrecking him out of the race. You can be sure that Toto will be crying and carrying on if one of his cars get hit. It would be more fuel on the fire if Max even remotely raced Saint Lewis hard at all. The best thing is to get pole position and get cleanly away at the start. This would eliminate the controversy in Hungary.
Mayrton
28th July 2021, 20:24
I think it will end in a pit strategy battle again. As to Max I doubt he will hold back. He will just do what he always does and let others make the mistakes. He knows Hamilton can’t afford it either. They are equal on points again.
DaveW (@dmw)
27th July 2021, 17:57
I want to go back to racing without this sense from the pit wall or the gallery that so and so is “desperate” and the other guy is evil. I’m already cringing at the lead in Sky will have to make Hungary seem like we’re about to kick off the Battle of Stalingrad part II.
Plossl (@)
27th July 2021, 18:04
Title should be…
‘Why would I get involved when the Team are doing all the dirty work for Me’
Jelle van der Meer (@)
27th July 2021, 18:09
The only dirty work this year is done by Lewis and Mercedes with their baseless complaints about rear wings, engines, pit stops etc.
Not even to mention their treatment of Bottas.
bob (@riptide)
27th July 2021, 18:20
Why? Did they pull Bottas in when he was in the points, and throw them away to protect Ham from being 1 point less?
Oh no, that was Perez wasn’t it.
Jelle van der Meer (@)
27th July 2021, 18:26
Oh jeez you got me there, what about the dozen times in past season Bottas had to move over because Lewis has to be ahead.
Fairly sure Perez is treated far better and is happier to help the team than Bottas is.
What about Lewis never having helped Bottas with a tow yet Bottas is always expected to help Lewis.
What about Toto comments after the Bottas/Russell crash, yeah Toto is mister nice guy.
ian dearing
27th July 2021, 19:01
Perez and Bottas are No2 until they prove otherwise. So stop with the fair, he deserves, he is not entitles nonsense you spout.
Bottas proved it in Austria 2, which is why when Ham was told they could fight said, No. I’ll let him pass.
in your odd little word you think despite Ham being a 1s faster than Bottas and LeClerc, Mercedes should have settled for a 2nd and 3rd, rather than the win, as it was unfair on Bottas.
A M (@amam)
27th July 2021, 20:26
At least Bottas gets the same upgrades as Hamilton–can’t say the same of Perez. As for the tow, Merc drivers take it in turns. Also Perez has jumped out the way for Max a couple times already
erikje
28th July 2021, 13:48
(@amam)
Nope, bottas often uses different parts to try out for the big man.
Like in Monaco both used different configurations so in Baku.
Mayrton
28th July 2021, 8:23
Ah, ok. Now I understand your comments on this site. You are of the opinion that no one is allowed to challenge Hamilton (not even within the rules of play) He is the one! Got it now.
Plossl (@)
27th July 2021, 18:46
At least they have the kahoonas to fight there own battles, As applauded and encouraged by Horner, Max’s bullying driving style of ‘the corner is mine or the fence’ has backed fired spectacularly, Max has, like most bullies when challenged skulked off to hide, while the agent provocateur Horner continues to play the aggrieved finger pointer so the attention doesn’t fall on Him.
erikje
27th July 2021, 19:38
(@f1-plossl)
Untill now max does his talking on track.
Max is one of the best drivers. The aggression in Silverstone was Lewis doing.
Max defended brilliantly and would have succeeded if not for the very aggressive move by Lewis. Who list control of his car trying to pass max. Just a rookie error. Cold tires, dirty part, full tank, to fast. Missed apex and took out max.
Green Flag (@greenflag)
27th July 2021, 20:11
Max may be fast but if he had any brains he’d be leading the championship by 26 points, not by only 8 points. Until he learns which battles to fight and which to concede he can wave his championship hopes goodbye.
Plossl (@)
27th July 2021, 20:30
Max tried to defend a corner that was lost, sticking to he’s mantra of ‘the corner is mine’ cost him dearly, he’s cutting across Lewis’s path like he wasn’t there was the only rookie mistake here. If the roles were reversed, Lewis would of, like he did in Spain, yielded the corner and survived to continue racing. They say you learn from your mistakes, in doing so you grow, to me it appears that they have learnt nothing and in doing so are doomed to repeat these same mistakes.
Andy (@andyfromsandy)
27th July 2021, 20:36
Watch the hands of SLH on the steering wheel. They do not look like he is fighting out of control.
Watch the on boards of MV and you will see he does 3 moves with his hands. Maybe he is out of control?
And I am not talking about the 3D renders but the actual on board views.
Christophe Batch
27th July 2021, 18:46
Both drivers MV and SLH are the stand out drivers this year and the previous year.
You have stated Lewis the following “Max ran a wider than normal line through Copse corner, giving Lewis more than enough space, so what are your expectations? Max not to turn at all?
One to argue that you recognise Max did turn into Lewis because he simply had to turn to make the corner.
What you fail to mention is Max had ample room on his left to not turn in so sharply which many would say Max turned in too aggressively.
Furthermore Lewis did not understeer into Max
Lewis wheel did not collide with Max’s, it was Max’s rear wheel coming into contact with Lewis’s once he turned in.
There is nothing wrong with Max admitting that he misjudged how close Lewis’s left front wheel was to his rear right wheel.
It takes a real man to admit his wrong doings
Had Max judged it correctly he would have forced Lewis to yield which would have broken his momentum allowing him to make the corner and lead out ahead of Lewis which would have made a great race.
Lewis has yielded on more than 2 occasions already this year with Max on track to avoid such incidents.
Honestly I am taking no sides I like watching both drivers who have been way above the rest of the field but the cockpit footage which is easily found online clearly shows Max taking a sharp turn to his right which is what Lewis have highlighted.
Unfortunately many are blinded to fix blame on the driver who is not their favourite in a biased way rather than looking at the facts to give a fair assessment of who is really to blame for the incident.
Max could have yielded for once and got a tow on Lewis and get back in front without taking such a risk or perhaps even doing the undercut as RB are the fastest in the pits.
Minimal Max would either had won the race or come 2nd rather than a DNF.
Horner and Co. really need to simply move past this as they may actually open a can of worms which end up with Max receiving points on his Licence as a result which I would not want nor many true formula 1 fans either.
Let’s be fair
Lewis doesn’t drive dirty
Max drives hard but other drivers on track know this and will at some stage stop yielding if Max doesn’t adjust his aggression a tad or more contact or DNF will become a regular occurrence.
Mayrton
28th July 2021, 8:30
Lets be fair. Opinions dont matter. Facts do. The penalty points for causing a colission comparison shows Max has none and Lewis got plenty. Dont copy the Mercedes narrative, please look at the data.
DrG (@drgraham)
28th July 2021, 10:07
You persist in this falllacy
Max has far more points than lewis since the system was created.
Max had a whole year driving on his own – that tends to reduce the likelihood of collision points…. Whatever they are?
Mayrton
28th July 2021, 12:17
Yes, if you consider all the classes up to F1 you might be right, although Lewis will not come off clean either since I recall Lauda calling him crazy. But why is it relevant to look further back than 3 years? The answer is probably because you need to to find something on his record whilst Lewis hit at least 3 RB cars in the last 3 years. Come on, stop referring to 6-18 year old Max. Its silly, we all grow
bogolo moremong (@bogolo)
28th July 2021, 12:22
Penalty points over one or two years perhaps.
Take a look at total penalty points earned to see the true picture of who is “dirty”, if that is even a thing.
Max is joint top with Grosjean.
bob (@riptide)
27th July 2021, 18:06
Oh dear, just been over on twitter and I see this is trending again.
https://twitter.com/formulazoee/status/1420057447990013959/photo/1
AMG44 (@amg44)
27th July 2021, 18:18
Learn to back off when you lose the corner and when the other driver has given you room and backed off twice in the opening 6 corners, you learn to back off at least once too and don’t act like the other driver isn’t there. That is the right thing to do and a Racers-agreement.
The upcoming race either it is going to be the usual Max-Redbull domination or another Max crash if Lewis (or maybe Charles) is close.
Robbie (@robbie)
27th July 2021, 19:24
“Learn to back off when you lose the corner and when the other driver has given you room” said the stewards to LH as they penalized him.
JohnEver (@johnever)
27th July 2021, 21:17
silly comment, everybody knows Max left much more than a cars width, and Lewis couldn’t make it to the apex, thus punting Max
comments like this, you are trying too hard to try to convonce others
Would be more believable if it was a little toned down
Same as some comments with ‘he got taught a lesson’
I used to like the civilized comments on this site, but the chauvinistic defending of the one with the penalty is a little too much
Adam Hardwick (@fluxsource)
29th July 2021, 11:28
@johnever I keep seeing this weird obsession with the apex. Why have so many people fixated on Lewis not hitting the apex – there is no requirement to do so.
JohnEver (@johnever)
30th July 2021, 10:59
if you go 2 wide through a corner, the one on the outside leaves a space for the one one the inside…
but if the one on the inside is goign too wide, there will be a collision of course
but I think you know this already, but just fail to admit, cause else you have to admit it was Lewis’ fault, and that of course can’t be done
Mayrton
28th July 2021, 8:33
I am starting to see people want to see Lewis win rather than seeing actual racing. You would think that after 8 years of Mercedes borefest one would be pleased with some actual racing. But apparently that can only be done when it is not a battle with holy Lewis.
Horacio
27th July 2021, 18:49
Jessez H. P. Tapdacing Christian, time to put this thing to rest, it’s an embarrassment.
It was a car racing and since forever sometimes cars crash during a race; sometimes one of them manages to continue and sometimes both are out. Marshalls analyzed the video and decided that in this case one of the drivers was PREDOMINANTLY at fault, and was punished with two points and 10 seconds. Done. Deal with it.
Time to stop. What a bunch of crybabies.
The Edge (@the-edge)
27th July 2021, 18:58
“ Verstappen “not interested in getting involved” in fall-out over crash”
Translates to
“anything is say will make me look stupid so I’ll pretend I’m staying out of it”
erikje
27th July 2021, 19:40
You seem to talk about yourself there :)
David BR (@david-br)
27th July 2021, 19:01
RaceFans:
Just for clarification, if Verstappen is summoned (as the article title implies) doesn’t that mean he has to get involved, even if he doesn’t want to? Or are Hamilton and Verstappen not expected to turn up (virtually) to the Thursday meeting?
Robbie (@robbie)
27th July 2021, 19:19
“I don’t have much to say on all the media hype,” said Verstappen.
Getting involved in the meeting on Thursday is not getting involved with the media hype. And I’m sure you know that but are just grasping at straws from what it sounds. Of course he is going to speak to the media at some point, but it sounds to me like he just won’t be drawn into big heated debates on the fairness/unfairness of the penalty etc etc.
He’s already said “I know what happened at Silverstone as I was in the car and obviously I feel a certain way about how my race ended” Kind of goes without saying, no?
David BR (@david-br)
27th July 2021, 19:33
@robbie Your constant insinuations of bad faith are tiresome. Firstly I’m asking because I don’t know whether Hamilton and Verstappen have to appear in this meeting or not. Second, I’m talking about this meeting, not the media hype, and Verstappen saying:
If he has to say something at the official meeting about the crash, then he is forced to deal with it. But I had presumed the drivers wouldn’t be involved at this stage. Hence my question.
erikje
27th July 2021, 19:41
How is that possible. You are always so open-minded about max.
Lol
David BR (@david-br)
27th July 2021, 19:46
? I was one of the few who felt he wasn’t at fault for the clash way back with Ricciardo at Baku, unfairly treated with various incidents after, and I’m constantly praising his driving, aggression and overall maturation as a driver. I thought he bettered Hamilton, legitimately, in various first-lap clashes this year and said so. At Silverstone I thought he was simply half to blame, making it a racing incident. My issue here is not with Max but with Red Bull’s management. Throw your accusations elsewhere.
Robbie (@robbie)
27th July 2021, 19:49
@david-br You started with a quote of the headline from this site that Max and LH have been summoned. And it says in the body of that article that they will take part in the virtual meeting, as only makes sense, to me at least. So yeah it sounded like you were being sarcastic since this was already spelled out in the article. Apologies for misinterpreting that. I would suggest Max was leaving the request for review up to the team, and didn’t himself request that they do that. And otherwise I think it sounds like he will do his best to move on.
David BR (@david-br)
27th July 2021, 19:56
@robbie OK, I read it for the third time and this time did read ‘the two drivers’, my mistake. No sarcasm intended. You may well be right to say Max left it up to the team to request a review, I would assume the same.
Ruben
27th July 2021, 19:02
Love how everybody is getting so worked up about, apart from Max.
ian dearing
27th July 2021, 19:37
Oh I didnt know Ham had responded. Got a link? What did he say. And surprised he did after his big launch today.
erikje
27th July 2021, 19:42
Lewis has said a lot already. Like blaming max and playing the dumb card.
mystic one (@mysticus)
28th July 2021, 0:56
I think the best outcome from the season would play out like this… ham goes to final race with 14 or 6-7 points lead. Max, wins and Lewis second, with max with the flap. Ham finishes 7 points or 1 point lead. With Max thrown out 7-8 points in silverstone, i would love to see Max’s face :) or Horner’s for that matter? I bet they would open the books, and go to international human rights court and advocate how inhumane the silverstone defeat was, and request a review and race ban on ham… one can only wish :)
Rob (@)
28th July 2021, 18:16
Remember, it’s the crazy max and red bull fans being divisive and ruining the conversation and being childish
Ruben
27th July 2021, 19:53
To be honest: I haven’t seen any reaction from Lewis (though @erikje says there’s been one, I’m sure Hamilton has had similar questions as Verstappen). I have seen over 150 reactions on pretty much every article on the subject over the last week, many blaming Max for being hot headed.
Apart from the online response: Red Bull has every interest in unsettling Mercedes wherever they can. So if they can do so, while championship leader can stay focussed on the job at hand it’s a win win for them.
Mayrton
28th July 2021, 8:40
I havent seen a single non Uk article that gives blame to Max. Not a single one. And I read sources from Germany, France, Italy and the US.
A M (@amam)
28th July 2021, 12:37
Salo blamed Max (Finnish aricle)
Montoya places most of the blame on Max
Mayrton
28th July 2021, 8:37
Lewis said plenty. At least two interviews where he put the blame of Verstappen’s style. He is doing a Rosberg and Max wont go for it. So sorry Lewis, you will have to beat him on track.
Jon (@johns23)
28th July 2021, 0:06
He did get worked up posting to social media after the race. He should of waited till he thought about it and not put all the blame on Hamilton
OOliver
27th July 2021, 19:03
Horner and Marko will soon give Max a bad reputation.
Horner is one of the nastiest individuals on the F1 circuit and just enjoys strife and disharmony.
Max is a straight forward individual but Horner has forced him into a direction he doesn’t like to tread.
Robbie (@robbie)
27th July 2021, 19:22
What direction is that? Winning? Max does his talking on the track, and he’s acting like a WDC level driver trying to stamp his authority on the races and the season, as all WDC level drivers are expected to do and for which they are applauded. I’m sure he and RBR are good with that and will carry on that way.
mystic one (@mysticus)
28th July 2021, 1:02
“he’s acting like a WDC” he is only a wannabe yet… this is the closest ever get to that category but wdc is won when it is won, you dont act like you crossed the bridge before you crossed the bridge… ham knows well… loosing 2 wdcs with close to heart-attack levels….max could turn out very much like 2007 lewis’ shoes… and would understand silly mistakes and bad luck can loose you a wdc!
Robbie (@robbie)
28th July 2021, 16:34
@mysticus Of course you have conveniently misquoted me. I am well aware that Max is not a proven WDC yet, which is why I said “like a WDC level driver…”
And yes you can approach a bridge at some speed which can make it pretty obvious that you are about to cross the bridge, and very unlikely that you about to slam on the brakes.
mystic one (@mysticus)
28th July 2021, 21:17
sure he can try to cross this bridge at any speed, even being on the bridge doesnt guarantee you will pass it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mclp9QmCGs
ask ham about 2007
Jeorge (@jeorge)
27th July 2021, 19:33
Verstappen at his young age showing the maturity and class that Lewhine CHeatlton the British Rosberg has only ever heard about from Monaco
Ruben
27th July 2021, 19:58
But then: can you really judge someone on being classy and mature if you while calling his opponent “Lewhine CHeatlton the British Rosberg”?
Dave
28th July 2021, 9:09
He thinks Mercedes are the biggest noobs on the grid. He dislikes Rosberg too, I think.
Dave
16th August 2021, 9:44
“Dislike mercedes noobs this team is full of trash…….Dislike red bull noobs lap 69 austria 2019…….Dislike haas noobs cant design livery at all…….only ferrari for the win no p2 or p3…….”
A M (@amam)
27th July 2021, 20:14
Verstappen “not interested in getting involved” in fall-out over crash as team demands review
Who is he trying to kid… all that whining over Hamilton’s celebrations
ian dearing
27th July 2021, 21:39
To be fair both Max and Ham were given conflicting information. And hopefully someone told Max that Ham was not informed that Max had gone to hospital until after the celebrations had finished and he was in the press pen. And he was not happy that this information had been kept from him. Confirmed by the Dutch guy from Ziggo and others.
Stash (@stash)
28th July 2021, 0:54
Trying to work out what happened here. So Lewis did not finish the race and immediately ask how Max was? Surely he did. That would be first thing on anyone’s mind would it not? If that is the case that Hamilton asked about Max’s welfare then why would anyone withhold information from him that Max was taken to hospital. Why would Mercedes do that? For what? Quick straight response would be, “Max is in hospital but they say he will be fine”, would be the response would it not? None of this makes sense. Either Lewis did not give a damn or Mercedes chose not to spoil his celebration by concerning him about another drivers welfare – who was in hospital. Which one is it? Or is it something else? Does not look good does it? Plenty of strange embarrassing questions to go with this one. It seems Mercedes care a lot about Max’s welfare now. Why not straight after the race? Why did they not care enough to tell Hamilton to maybe tone it down a bit during the celebrations; after punting someone off and sending them to hospital. Some here don’t like the expression WOW! so I’ll just go with; I don’t like it! If an incident is deemed primarily to be your fault and you have taken an opponent out of the race then you should be disqualified. No? How hard is that to work out? Hello people writing the rules? Hamilton should have been disqualified simple as that. A given. He was penalized right? Guilty. Why was he allowed to walk away with a win and a bruised opponent who highly likely has one less engine to use for the rest of the year. Hamilton got off free. “Nothing to see here. Give me all of those points. I deserve them all and some extra bonuses too. Yay I win!” That’s how it looks.
OOliver
28th July 2021, 1:55
The allegation is that Mercedes asked about Max and Redbull said he was doing okay.
If he was supposedly doing fine why mute their celebration.
It wasn’t a very pleasant accident, but Redbull are trying their best to milk every moment of it to sow bad blood and character assassination.
ian dearing
28th July 2021, 9:55
None of this makes sense to you because you ignore factual statements made by the people who were there including Dutch reporters, change timelines, and fill in the gaps with any old nonsense you can come up with.
erikje
28th July 2021, 13:55
So toto decided not to inform Lewis.
Does not sound any better does it?
MacLeod (@macleod)
28th July 2021, 9:27
Lewis was not informed that Max was in Hospital untill the interview circle by I think the Ziggo reporter. You should listen to Damien Hill postcast when he ask Jack (Ziggo) about that and he said Lewis called Max later and for Max this is happened as he focus on Hungary.
When Lewis was told that Max was in the Hosipital he looked sidewards to his mediaassitent and said he didn’t knew that.
Damien, Jack and Nathalie understood that Lewis was not informed that Max was brought to the Hospital.
Broderick Harper (@banbrorace)
28th July 2021, 21:50
I’m a Hamilton fan, but will defend Max on this.
Imagine having a boss like Horner winding you up and constantly in your ear – highly likely you’ll end up saying something you don’t mean.
Good comments from him today. The last thing he needs is to be talking to Hamilton with anything but a cool head
Pjotr (@pietkoster)
27th July 2021, 20:15
It has nothing to do like most underaged reactions say. It is about budget and collateral damage in the next races. But some a right. Ham is average at the moment and Max is the new king.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
28th July 2021, 0:09
Verstappen is at least looking better than hamilton on performance this year, yes, however I still feel mercedes have big chance to win the title, so either the car is superior, which on performance I wouldn’t say so far, red bull seems better in quali and merc in the win, or hamilton is still fairly competitive, obviously he’s been much luckier but luck usually runs out at some point.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
28th July 2021, 0:09
Ops, red bull seems better in quali and the cars seem similar in the races overall*
Ali AA
27th July 2021, 21:15
Jeez.
Seems RB needs some aligning on what the driver and team is doing. F1 is a team sport and a driver is part of it. Especially MV in this scenario. It feels uncanny that horner is rambing so much while Max wants to be quite. I am sure things will be more clear when MV is in Hungary and questioned by the media.
Thoughts?
Mayrton
28th July 2021, 8:45
Separation of tasks? He does the driving, they do the legal stuff. Also, I feel Max is bigger than RedBull. He may drive for them now but team Verstappen is more ambitious than just 2021.
Jon (@johns23)
28th July 2021, 0:04
Im happy Max wants to move on, although I’d argue he is partly to blame for what happened. He can also tell his bosses to pull their heads in.
erikje
28th July 2021, 21:24
Max talks on track or creating headlines by sentences put in his mouth.
He moves on…
Enjoy
Bulgarian (@bulgarian)
28th July 2021, 0:33
What else Max can say? He has done some manoeuvres in the past that were also assessed as 10 seconds penalty, like in 2018 China crashing into Sebastian Vettel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR3Ls5tcp5A
Did Hamilton’s move on Max in Silverstone was worse than this Max’s manoeuvre? No way, of course.
Mayrton
28th July 2021, 8:50
I agree, the turmoil started when Lewis didnt own up to it. The offense itself isnt a biggy
Fred Fedurch
28th July 2021, 5:21
The Kneepad Squad is out in full force today.
Illusive (@illusive)
28th July 2021, 6:10
Well said max, the best thing to do, back to racing and winning again and be the champ.
CHIKANO (@chikano)
28th July 2021, 6:45
Anyone check out Silverstone 2014 ALO vs VET
Ditto except for the crash
René (@)
28th July 2021, 17:33
Completely different. Vettel was already next to Alonso at woodcote (in his blind spot). Also copse wasn’t flat out then.
Plossl (@)
28th July 2021, 23:47
According to Wiki Copse was reprofiled in 97/98 and the last reprofiling to the track was done in 2011.
Plossl (@)
28th July 2021, 23:53
Very similar, Alonso wisely bails out knowing the corner is lost and finishes the race 6 seconds behind Vettel.
https://youtu.be/fVnbJQRpG5w
tielemst
28th July 2021, 13:21
Sometimes I do wonder what Lewis and Max can possibly say to quiet things down. Reading the comments over here in reaction to the statement above I can’t help to think a lot of people don’t want to hear the drivers say something sensible or de-escalating at all.
Prab
28th July 2021, 23:33
Exactly.
If the drivers say something, the fans are riled up. If they don’t, then also they are riled up!
I think this energy from fans is coming up now because of the borefest (except a couple of races) that were the previous 11 seasons.
On one side, it makes me happy that fans like us are sticking to their drivers and appreciating them. On the other, it disheartens me that they blatantly write negative senseless comments about the other driver.
PS please dont pick a line from my comment and backlash against it. Try to keep your point humbly!