Verstappen collision shows I’m “a bit of a target” – Hamilton

2022 Brazilian Grand Prix

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Lewis Hamilton says his collision with Max Verstappen shows he is “a bit of a target” for some drivers.

However Verstappen accused his rival of having no intention to leave space for him when they tangled, and said Hamilton cost himself a win by failing to leave him space.

The pair collided while fighting over second place when the race was restarted on lap seven. Verstappen tried to go around the outside of Hamilton at turn one, then moved to the inside at turn two, where they clashed.

The stewards decided Verstappen was “predominantly at fault” for the collision and gave him a five-second time penalty.

(L to R): Max Verstappen, Red Bull; Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Interlagos, 2022
Poll: Was Verstappen’s penalty for Hamilton collision correct?

Hamilton said he “didn’t really have much of an opinion” about the latest run-in between the pair.

“For me, all I thought in that moment was I thought I would have to retire because I felt something, the rear wasn’t feeling the same after that. And for me, it was like I’m going to lose the team the one-two and that’s all I could think of.

“So I was driving across the grass, back onto the track, and all I could think of is how can I get back to giving the team that incredible result. So just for me it’s kind of again, not how you fall, it’s how you get back up, and I’m proud of the job we’ve all done.”

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Verstappen has had few collisions with other drivers since his title fight with Hamilton last year, in which they made contact on several occasions. Hamilton said he’s “not concerned” Verstappen might have a particular problem with him.

Race start, Interlagos, 2022
Poll: Rate the race: 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix
“I don’t have any concerns,” said Hamilton. “I think it’s natural when you have the success and the numbers on your chest that you become a bit of a target. But it’s okay, it’s nothing that I have not dealt with before.”

Before the pair collided, Verstappen suspected Hamilton would not leave him room on the inside of turn two. “To be honest I went around the outside and I immediately felt he was not going to leave space, so I just went for it,” he told Sky.

“He didn’t leave me space so I knew we were going to get together. It cost him the race win, for me it gave me five seconds. It wouldn’t have mattered anything for my race because we were just way too slow. But it’s just a shame, I thought we could race quite well together, but clearly the intention was not there to race.”

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    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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    140 comments on “Verstappen collision shows I’m “a bit of a target” – Hamilton”

    1. ‘Verstappen suspect Hamilton would not leave him room on the inside of turn two. “To be honest I went around the outside and I immediately felt he was not going to leave space, so I just went for it,” he told Sky.’

      says it all. He didn’t have to make the move then, but he went for it. He could have held back gained DRS but no, he went for it.

      1. “He didn’t leave me space so I knew we were going to get together. It cost him the race win, for me it gave me five seconds.” arrogance and hypocrisy and entitlement in his mind/view is otherworldly… lets see how long he can last with that attitude before something a lot more serious happen to him or any person involved with him in a collision

        1. FIA needs to punish him for bringing the sport into disrepute, for saying such things. The example he is setting to the next generation is to just go in for a collision when things aren’t going your way.

          Seems the stewards were correct in their decision to penalise. I wonder if they used telemetry data to see he was steaming in recklessly, as his own words demonstrate was the intent.

          This coupled with his reaction to team orders with Perez today…. spoilt brat comes to mind?

          1. It’s a problem that it never seems to come to his mind.

          2. They finally used the telemetry. His angle was all wrong and with excess speed.

            1. https://image.vuukle.com/25725619-0c34-4146-9b4f-b7e7fe114fe6-2dc2cb64-effd-4fb5-b168-f1c2af123db8

              Max in 2018 gave a lot less space to ocon, incase max chanters say he gave more space. Here the proof.

              Ham gave max more space than max gave ocon, yet ocon was penalised for 10sec.

              Since he admitted to crashing on purpose live on TV, new evidence came to light, and he should def get the one race ban he so deserved all these years for the very same driving antics.

      2. I know you’ve all had your briefing from Brackley but this is such a bad faith interpretation of Verstappen’s comments.

        He does not say he deliberately caused the collision. Quite the opposite. He says he knew Hamilton was going to cause a collision but he was not going to be bullied into backing out.

        People still try and overtake Stroll even though the guy weaves like a lunatic. Verstappen will still try and overtake Hamilton even though his car is magnetically drawn to colliding with Red Bull cars (and only Red Bull cars) that are trying to overtake him. It is the aggressor’s responsibility to change their behaviour, not for everyone else to accommodate him.

        1. No @red-andy, but Verstappen is showing that he’s in an environment where he is told that Hamilton is the evil towards him and therefore, rather than dispassionately and expertly judging the on-track situation, he’s letting that get to him, acts on the perceived reality and therefore causes (according to the stewards) a collision.

          … Hamilton even though his car is magnetically drawn to colliding with Red Bull cars (and only Red Bull cars)

          and it seems you are there too, but that’s fine because you aren’t racing him, just commenting on a forum like us all, so it’s not an issue just opinion. Verstappen should know and act better while in the car racing on track. And I also really wish that those around him would honestly tell him too, but that bit seems long gone.

          1. By the way, yes I do agree Stroll too needs a stern talking to (on the one hand easier for us all to call, bc. he doesn’t have the rare talent that we see in Verstappen, but that probably makes it a harder message, bc. he cannot rely on his talent alone to get there, like Versappen probably should), but that’s a bit separate from Verstappen, bc. he’s not the same guy.

        2. @red-andy To be honest, there were similar circumstances during the sprint race and Verstappen was aggressively shutting the door on Hamilton who backed off multiple times. Verstappen got where he was by braking late, he would not turn at the apex with that speed and angle. Not saying Hamilton shouldn’t leave more room, but I think Verstappen driving standard is calling this type of response from other drivers.

          As drivers are not fully surprised by double moves from Perez, weaving from Stroll, or late breaking from Ricciardo.

          While I’m impressed by Verstappen speed and fighting spirit, I find him a bit over the line in his battles.
          Also I find that stewards don’t recognize driver awareness, there will be penalty only if there is collision. Taking avoiding action will just leave you with a place lost most of the time. Not surprising that drivers tend to come together.

        3. You are completely right on this. Hamilton is playing mind games again, but he is the real aggressor in this situation, like he was in Silverstone in 2021…

        4. Why is it Hamilton’s responsibility to avoid a collision?

          Why is Max never held responsible for his actions?

          Do you REALLY think it’s the responsibility of the car on the racing line to avoid a collision from someone coming up behind them?

          1. « Why is it Hamilton ‘s responsality to avoir a colllision ? »
            Well, if you look at his camera, he does’t try to avoir anything. He turns even more on the right when we see Vestappen aside of him.

            And why ?
            Because it’s just responsability of any drivers.
            Hamilton included.
            It’s F1, not stock car

            1. What you are saying is that if you are on a dual carriageway and you overtake a car.
              but as you come closer the overtaken car, it moves to your lane you will not brake or take avoiding action because they should not be doing this.
              Analogies are always fraught but the point is if you can see a danger in front of you, instinctively you should not drive right into it.
              Verstappen always shuts the door why is there a different rule for anyone else?
              And to me shutting the door is not fair racing, as it creates these situations and potentially serious accidents.

      3. LOL!!

        It’s like Max has gone back to his 2017 year.

    2. Max knew that space was going to disappear and went for it anyway. And it was just the 2nd lap of competition only.

      The guy can’t see Hamilton ahead of him, he turns back into a 17 year old teenager again.

      It’s bordering the bizarre already

      1. I take it to mean that Verstappen hoped to get fully alongside or even ahead by rushing into T2, and thereby deny Hamilton the chance to squeeze him off – which he correctly predicted Hamilton would do. It didn’t quite work out, as he only got halfway alongside and, as is the common theme between these two, they then collided.

        1. It couldn’t ‘work out’. It was lazy, reckless driving.

          ‘5 seconds’ is too light.

          1. It was a risky move, but he wasn’t racing Latifi or Norris. Hamilton is not just one of the best, he is also one of the most experienced drivers out there. Hamilton didn’t take the apex because he forgot Verstappen was there. He is too good a driver for that.

            I get that Hamilton might have his personal issues with Verstappen, but I think he also knows he can do better than this, and that he wasted perhaps his only chance to win this season. Like in previous races, these two seem at their worst when racing each other.

            1. I’d like to think that LH was sending a message that he won’t be yielding anymore. He’s smart driver who knows his opponents but this season is almost over for him and there’s nothing to lose, so why not to give a taste of what’s coming next season to MV?

            2. Because it could cost him in races where he’d be able to outscore Verstappen, as it did in Monza last year.

        2. Halfway alongside? You should look at the pictures that are attached to this article.
          Very telling that Brundle, an experienced racer himself and commentator thought it was Lewis getting the penalty.

          1. But Max only got there by under braking for the top of the S– There was no way he was ever going to make the apex with the speed he entered the bottom S with.

            …. which is exactly why he got the penalty.

            1. He was on the kerb at the 2nd part of the Senna S. How was he not making the apex?
              There is a pic above showing it.

            2. He doesn’t need to hit the apex, he just needs to stay on track. So not like last year.

    3. These two should consider couple’s therapy. They can race everyone except each other.

      It’s a shame for the neutral viewer. Think back to the great battles between past champions; they’re inevitably some of the highlights of a race or even season. These two are letting the fans down with their constant shenanigans.

      1. its this one who is the cause. the arrogant crashkid

      2. Haha instead of a time penalty give them therapy. Would be a great storyline for DTS

    4. Wow that’s a pretty damning quote from Verstappen – bordering on admitting to deliberately crashing.

      1. one thing i like about max, he doesnt deny being a jerk! he deny all penalties are his faults, but he never denies being the biggest jerk of all time

        1. Hamilton could learn from that

          1. Ham or anyone had nothing to learn from max’s driving nor ethics. You don’t learn how to behave on or off track from a teenager with big ego.

    5. “I immediately felt he was not going to leave space, so I just went for it.” And then the rest of crying. Good grief.

      Somehow not even being competitive this year Hamilton managed to get in his head and make him make a mistake putting him out of podium contention in a race while Hamilton finishes second. And he still tires to make its sound like he came out better lol.

    6. To be clear Hamilton making his hatersgonnahate comments is also surprisingly graceless. It sounds like 2011-2012 Hamilton.

      1. The problem in 2011, is that it sounded pathetic. Simply because Hamilton was just as much at fault for the crashes as Max was yesterday.

        Indeed that’s one thing they have in common. Every so often, Max performs like Lewis did in that year, i.e. ‘I have a divine right to overtake’

      2. Yep, more classic Lewis victimhood posturing. He tried the now common ‘drive like the other car is not there and leave them no option but to go off track’. Cannot stand spoiled brat Max, but he knew Lewis would do this, and called him on it, Max kept the minimal track he deserved, and let Lewis crash into him. Blatant favoritism for their new Brazilian citizen by the stewards penalizing Max.

        1. But max is the one whining…

    7. Absolutely. Today has proven that, especially when Hamilton is not fighting for the title.

      Hamilton has got under Verstappen’s skin so much that the Dutch driver see’s red like a spanish bull about to be slaughtered and will do anything, including using his car as a weapon to stay ahead.

      Verstappen has proved that even against his own teammate who helped him so much in 2021.

      1. In an article where Lewis says he’s a target after causing the crash with Max. Priceless

        1. The same article where max acknowledged the move was never on but still kept his foot planted anyway because he was aware his rival had more to lose.

          That same article?

    8. The whole idea of being seen as a target in F1 is absolutely ridiculous fascinating to me and brings me back to what I said last week about Adelaide 1992:

      30 years since the most fascinating crash in the history of Formula 1, in my opinion. We all know that Ayrton Senna was no stranger to dirty tactics, and was perhaps the driver that introduced the ‘brake-test’ to Formula 1. However, during this time, his main rivals, Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell, were also willing to dish it out, and for this reason the late 1980s and early 1990s were the very height of dirty tactics in Formula 1. In my opinion, Nigel Mansell deliberately brake-tested Ayrton Senna in Adelaide to get back at him after Senna had pulled the trick on him in the past, and to show Senna that he couldn’t walk all over him. Senna saw that Mansell had brake-tested him and decided to take them both out of the race. He was better off sacrificing the points on that day to make sure nobody would ever brake test him again, because he was Ayrton Senna. It was a real power-play move, and I believe it was yet another example of when Senna’s ruthlessness went over the line.

      Sometimes you have to sacrifice the points on one occasion and accept a collision in order to make sure drivers don’t take advantage of you in the future. Maybe Hamilton knew there would be minor contact but felt he had to do it, although obviously it is not on the same level as Senna and Mansell. Maybe if he had turned in on Verstappen in Spain when Verstappen dived, expecting to miss the corner but expecting Hamilton to back off and seize the collision, and they actually collided, Verstappen would not have repeated the move, which is legal but not great, on other occasions that season.

      Fascinating stuff!

      1. @f1frog So now Verstappen has admitted intent:

        “To be honest I went around the outside and I immediately felt he was not going to leave space, so I just went for it,” he told Sky. “He didn’t leave me space so I knew we were going to get together. It cost him the race win, for me it gave me five seconds. It wouldn’t have mattered anything for my race because we were just way too slow.”

        That is admitting to a criminal assault, convince me otherwise.
        On the one hand, stopping LH winning the race, by deliberately using the car as a weapon. On the other, I can’t win the race today anyway.
        IMO he earned a ban from the sport today. Please explain how Flavio Briatore’s conduct was worse?

        1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
          14th November 2022, 2:46

          @biker56 it seems that Max hates Lewis

          1. that goes both ways.
            Hamilton has a history as well with people coming to close to him… Alonso, Rosberg and Verstappen.
            Verstappen and Hamilton aren’t giving one inch to each other

        2. @biker56

          Regardless of who was at fault, he did not admit anything. He actually blamed Hamilton for the collision. Just watch the video and you will see what I mean.

          1. @exeviolthor Interesting. So “he made me do it” is a valid argument for you, huh. Like “I had to hit him, he was standing where I wanted to walk”.
            It’s kind of the point that Verstappen refuses to admit error. Of course he blames Hamilton for the collision. And as V states, it worked, because: “It cost him the race win, for me it gave me five seconds. It wouldn’t have mattered anything for my race because we were just way too slow.” And V does not care at all that his deliberate collision hurt others, caused property damage, and endangered lives. That is of no concern to him at all, because he only saw an advantage to him. And not even an important advantage, he has already won the WDC.
            Later he would not give a place back to help hos own teammate get second. No advantage to him there. But 1 and 2 in the standings means a lot to the rest of the team. And he showed he does not care about that at all.
            Just think honestly about that mindset for a moment.

            1. I am not saying that Verstappen was not to blame for the collision. I am only saying that he did not admit that he did it on purpose.

            2. People are not saying white is actually white :) black is actually black, it is an illusion. Just like any lapped cars didn’t mean all lapped cars… It is black and white when they deem it is black and white otherwise it is all orange until further notice.

      2. Thank you for putting in writing that Senna deliberately caused crashes. I thought I was the only person in the world that thought he was dangerous lunatic who would eventually kill someone. As it turned out it was himself, I said at the time it was a blessing because otherwise he’d have killed someone else, and somehow that made me the asshole? Hamilton is now on the same path, he should retire before somebody gets hurt

        1. You have misunderstood me. I am saying Max Verstappen is like Ayrton Senna, the one who is willing to crash to win a championship, and Hamilton is like Prost or Mansell, realising that he has to be prepared to do the same in order to stop his rival from walking all over him.

      3. Hamilton decided around the mid-point of last season, that he wasn’t going to put up with Max’s ‘lunge and win’ tactics.

        That of course led to Silverstone and just as memorably Monza!!

        The thought of those two going at each other, is something to look forward to.

        Off the track, i.e. in the debrief rooms, they seem fine. It’s just pure hatred when they’re ON track

    9. If the FIA had any spine at all they would consider taking serious action against Verstappen after those comments. He basically admitted to causing todays incident on purpose just so another driver could not compete for a race win. This guy is a borderline psychopath if he races with that attitude and it’s only a matter of time before he kills somebody, Lance Stroll is another who drives with that mindset in my opinion also.
      This is our current world champion, this is the guy everyone has to look up to. As Jasper Carrott once joked, Schumacher is German for cobblers following his 1994 crash with Damon Hill. I would have loved to have seen Michael’s reaction if Verstappen had done this to him, or Senna. My money would have been on the Dutchman getting a good right hander and maybe that’s what’s needed.

      1. Stroll’s weaving today was dangerous stuff, and repeated, should have been shown a b+w flag warning.

        1. I think we are beyond black-and-white flag territory @david-br. He got a penalty for weaving in Australia, took Alonso out by weaving in Austin and ran his own teammate onto the grass in Saturday’s sprint race, not to mention other incidents which were less consequential. At this point a more severe penalty is warranted, or at least escalating numbers of penalty points to reflect the fact that this is repeated behaviour.

          1. @red-andy I haven’t been a vocal critic of Stroll during his time in F1, I think he does OK, if his team/pa are happy with that level of performance. The drop in safe racing standards has become very visible, though, you’re right. They need to do something to reel him in. Then again Grosjean was tolerated for years.

      2. My money would have been on the Dutchman getting a good right hander and maybe that’s what’s needed.

        It is borderline socially unacceptable to make such comments in this day and age. Personally, I agree with you. I’m not advocating that the FIA install a gladiator ring to resolve inter driver disputes, nor am I suggesting that any attacks ‘physical’ or otherwise should go unpunished. But like you, I can see how such an event ‘may’ give someone the pause for thought they may never otherwise contemplate.

      3. No, he just said what Lewis wouldn’t, that he wouldn’t back out. Lewis caused the crash and Max got the penalty. Standard

    10. “I immediately felt he was not going to leave space, so I just went for it.”
      As others are pointing out, it’s a full admission for Verstappen that (a) he knew there wouldn’t be space for him in thje corner and (b) that realization was a motivation for him to drive into a non-existent space anyway. Deny him and he’ll take you out. Wow. It’s the same kind of unchecked sense of entitlement that saw him refuse to give back the place to Perez.

      1. He didn’t know there wouldn’t be space, he said he felt there wouldn’t be space.
        If he was entitled to space, which he was, he had every right to go for it.

        1. P.s
          Your point (b) I totally agree with. Perez has been a good teammate to him and he was totally out of line. I hope he learns from it.

    11. Before the pair collided, Verstappen suspect Hamilton would not leave him room on the inside of turn two. “To be honest I went around the outside and I immediately felt he was not going to leave space, so I just went for it,” he told Sky

      If I were you, I would have set up Hamilton for turn 4. Given Hamilton’s line into 1 and 2, I expected him to already lose the position to Verstappen. I think Hamilton has had enough of leaving him room anymore, and unless Verstappen proves it to him, I’d expect Hamilton to keep on doing the same to him until another horrible consequence happens to Verstappen like in Silverstone and possibly Monza. I also expected Verstappen to cut the corner and avoid contact, but he still insisted in committing to turn 2. Various times, Hamilton has cut the corner, if he has to, when racing Verstappen last year (Saudi Arabia, Italy, Abu Dhabi) in order to avoid contact/damage. It is better to cut the corner and not damage your car.

      1. I agree. I can’t remember the race last year but I can remember Verstappen break testing Lewis and Hamilton damaging his front wing in the process. There were many cases last year after the Silverstone crash when Hamilton had to take evasive action to avoid contact with Max. Verstappen just does not care one bit, if he were in another series he would not get away with it.
        He would get planted in the wall at every race in stock car racing for example, or even Indycars. Those guys are real men and take no nonsense, this guy makes Kyle Busch look like a sportsmanship of the year candidate.

    12. Max provided his own commentary today for the Hamilton and the Perez actions.

    13. Very few drivers came away looking good this weekend (sprint included). Max looks like a jerk for ignoring team orders and colliding with Lewis yet again. Lewis looks like he has a persecution complex. Ocon looks like a child for arguing team orders to let Alonso by. Leclerc looks like a jerk for trying to grab Sainz’s podium position by team orders. Ricciardo looks like he has just lost the totally ability to compete in F1. Stroll looks like a pending tragic accident waiting to happen. Alonso looks like he attempted to punt Ocon out of frustration for being pushed wide by him earlier. An exciting weekend of racing but it’s been hard to explain to new fans why these guys are adored by millions.

      1. But Hamilton IS a bit of a target to Verstappen. That’s crystal clear.

        Verstappen talks as if Hamilton did something terrible by not letting him have It his way. He should take a look at what Ocon and Stroll have been doing to see what is really unfair and unsportslike racing.

        1. It takes two to tango and while watching real time it appeared like Lewis was just as at fault as Max. The stewards obviously disagreed and Max’s comments don’t do him any favors but the two of them have shown repeatedly that they lack respect for each other on track and it diminishes the sport. I’m not a Max fan or a Lewis fan for the record because I’m sure I’ll be accused of some sort of bias from one of their fandoms.

          1. Verstappen is acting like Hamilton did him dirty when this happens all the time at this track. Didn’t leave him space? Try again the next lap. That’s what russell, sainz and Hamilton did against him yesterday, vettel with Stroll and so on.

            It was only lap 6.

            Completely unreasonable to go all in so early on a lose-lose situation like that.

            Yet he still acts as If he got the better out of it because Hamilton lost the race whereas he wasn’t going to win It anyway.

            Crazy stuff.

          2. LOL!!

            Let’s be honest. If Hamilton had let him through and then Max took our Russell – you’d be blaming Hamilton for letting him past!!

    14. The entire team is rotten to the core.

    15. Seann Sheriland
      14th November 2022, 0:41

      Crashstappen back to his former days.
      What a sore loser.

    16. Where are the usual Verstappen apologists? This thread looks awfully silent.

      I’d really like to hear how they excuse this one when their idol has essentially admitted the contact was pre-planned.

      Utterly shameful!

      1. They were noisy enough before he bragged about it. Now they will have to wait for CH to tell them what to believe next.

      2. VER fan here, not an apologist. However, he is rapidly pushing me to root for others. As for Checo, what he did for Max last year in the final race gave Max the championship (I know, I know – so did Masi – please don’t rehash that now) and for Max to not help Checo now when it means nothing to him is despicable.

      3. @kbdavies

        Absolutely NOT a Max fan. But what’s with this baiting. The complaint clearly suggests that Max fans are typically posting defences and excuses, yet at the same time is being critical that they are not being vocal at this time.

        Surely you should be encouraged that they do indeed have some limits regarding that which they will defend.

        1. Holy cow! I found an adult on the Internet.

      4. Max went into harm’s way, knowing that the usual perpetrator was going deliberately to crash into him and would not give the space.

        For his share of the fault a 5 sec penalty is fair for Max, provided there is also a 50 year race ban for the perpetrator.

        Not a Max fan by the way. Call me better an Alain Prost fan. And without being a proper fan I have supported Kimi and Fernando. But not Max.

        1. Max fans are truly unhinged loons. Max said, I knew he would close the door but I went into it anyway. For Max fans, if Max is on the inside and gets hit, he was turned into, if Max is on the outside and gets hit, he was run into. Never ever Max’s fault even when Max admits he ran into the other driver. Last year in one race, I think they one when he parked his car on top of HAM, Max said something to the effect, that’s what you get when you don’t leave room.

        2. hyoko, the problem with that theory is that Max admitted perpetrating this incident. I’m not sure you intended for Max to be banned for 50 years. Unless you think Max lied?

        3. “Not a Max fan” LOOL…yeah, you are known for being a “neutral” fan…you are a true sportsman/woman, ehhh yeah apart from hating one particular useless non-talented super-lucky I-dont-know-how-on-earth-he-made-it-to-F1 driver

    17. Same move made on Verstappen a few years ago. See his reaction.

      https://twitter.com/stanreport/status/1591919136355278848

      1. thanks for posting this.

        He can dish it out but he can’t take it. Hamilton is the one driver to call his bluff, everyone else just backs off him as he charges around bullying his way on the track.

      2. @macademianut

        Unless I am mistaken, that was overtaking a lapped driver, so not really ‘the same’.

        1. Either way, Verstappen was attempting to overtake, so it is EXACTLY the same.

        2. Yes. Ocon was a lap down. But he was allowed to unlap himself. VER did not even have to fight for position in that situation. He could have just let him unlap himself.

          The result — he blamed someone who was on the outside. Who knew the gap was going to disappear. And yet pressed on.

      3. same? OCO – VER is a back wheel – front wheel contact.

        Name one time in history where attacking driver tags back wheel and isn’t guilty of causing a collision?

        Do ppl understand that back-front contact isnt same as front-front? Even SKY went on how MAX is guilty because he would understeer into HAM and not because he hit HAM.

    18. Yeah, but if they stopped colliding y’all wouldn’t be able to scream and cry in the comments. Truth is, you love it

      1. pastaman False statement. Happiness tends to be quieter than unhappiness.

        1. No, they are unhappy because they hate Max or they love Max so any contact with Max stirs the pot with both. Same happened with Multi 21.

          If they didn’t have a desire to complain, both the forums and the racing would be bored. People don’t LOVE NFL for the game as much as seeing their team beat a rival. I imagine the same can be said for soccer/futbol. If they can’t find a reason to be happy or angry, they don’t watch as much.

    19. Max won’t talk to Sky again for a week because whaaa? This guy is a sore winner, a sore loser, and couldn’t spell the word sportsmanship. 2* WDC indeed.

    20. Max should have been pulled up a long time ago for his over aggressive driving, the FIA have let it go to the point where it’s just accepted as his style and all other drivers have move out of his way, its crazy

    21. No, you are not a victim. You are just playing one. Stop being a politician in a sport

    22. We really need 3 versions of RaceFans, a bit like a “Language” option some sites have.

      1. Lewis Worship only
      2. Max the Master only
      3. Objective, independent only

      I’ll admit, there may only be 5% in the last group but it would be nice.

      If this incident was between any other 2 drivers the comments section could have been interesting, informative and engaging. Unfortunately, other than a few silly movies, humans are yet to crack the whole multiverse thing so we will never get to experience this and instead are constrained to the usual myopic stuff.

      1. Sad, but very true. There were plenty of incidents this weekend, and a few far worse than this one.

      2. Agree but even if you are a Lewis or Max fan you should be able to put things in perspective and try to stick to valid arguments and facts. Instead things get blown out of proportion because its Lewis and Max

      3. So true!

        It’s such a shame the most informative site on f1 also is home to the worst fans. Same type of paradox as the fact that the three best drivers are also the least likable.

        In my perfect universe all the biased fans, the three drivers and their equally unlikable team managers were all mutes and keyboard-less.

      4. Number 3 makes no money. The worst, pot-stirring articles have the most comments. We are our own worst enemy.

    23. Lewis getting a few things off his chest with that comment, including – I think – a dig at Alonso’s “mere” two world titles: “I think it’s natural when you have the success and the numbers on your chest that you become a bit of a target.”

      1. @Tiaki Porangi that’s a bit of a reach there, my friend

    24. I still haven’t read the reason why max was blamed while the rules seem to state otherwise. But it’s probably the target on Lewis’ chest then ;)

      1. I initially called it as Hamilton’s fault as he didn’t leave enough room on the inside. However, on closer inspection, Max could actually have made the corner with the space he had, he just needed to turn the steering wheel. Instead, he chose to straight line the corner, obviously (given his later comments) intending to run wide and force Hamilton off at the exit. They would not have come together had Max made even the slightest effort to turn right, which I expect is what the stewards saw when they penalised him.

        1. I just watched a replay. He was fully steering to the right and on the kerbs.

          1. Indeed, a harsh decision.

            Max was ahead going into T1, going around the outside, left plenty of room on the inside for Lewis who was on an initially tighter line. Lewis then either opened the steering or understeered over to the right of track forcing Max off the track at the entry of T2, where he increased steering lock to try and keep clear of the Merc.

            A racing incident if anything, but erring on Max as the innocent party having been denied racing room by a driver coming from behind through T1. The RB couldn’t just disappear.

            1. Despite what you saw this is the actual decision – The Stewards determined that Verstappen attempted to pass Hamilton on the outside of turn 1 by braking very late. He did not complete the pass in Turn 1 and his excess speed compromised his entry into turn 2, at which point he made contact with Hamilton. While the Stewards recognize that Hamilton could possibly have given a little more room at the apex of turn 2, the Stewards determined that Verstappen was predominantly at fault.

              You think Verstappen was ahead in T1 contrary to the stewards. It takes two always and so the decision is predominantly.

        2. Don’t forget what happened last year. I don’t know if the stewards were the same as last year, but they would be influenced by Max running so far wide it seemed he was taking Lewis on a tour of downtown Sao Paulo. Stewards are just people too. I thought it was a racing incident myself.

        3. @drmouse
          He was steering to the right. When you get squeezed onto kerbs like he also did to Alonso in Spa, you can’t expect the other car to have optimum grip.
          It was clearly Hamilton’s fault as you initially suspected.

    25. Had an almost sensible exchange on the live race section of this site. If the debate is about racing room, racing line, space ok there is something there, but the biggest problem I had with the move is that he (Max) could see there was no space and didn’t yield. Carlos had a similar situation fighting Checo and yielded and then passed him the next lap. Then listening to the Max interview and also watching the Karun analysis at the end confirmed what I suspected. The man will not yield. If his mentality doesn’t change…

    26. Its quite the opposite. Max has been battling many other drivers to our great joy and entertainment. Only with Lewis it doesnt work. Lewis comes from a different era where cars could not follow closely, races were processional ad overtakes were done on drs.

      1. I think that’s too easy. It just seems personal between the two. Max seems more aggressive against Lewis and vice versa. Lewis can race and pass other cars without incident too. But to me it was just that, a racing incident.

        1. True, it is and always has been. They know they battle to be the alpha driver. They both don’t back out. But that is what racing rules are for. These become utterly useless however, leading to lots of toxicity, if Stewards also have political agendas in their decision making.

      2. Mayrton, I think you have a typo in your comment: “Lewis comes from a different era where cars could not follow closely, races were processional ad overtakes were done on drs”

        Lewis obviously predates DRS and comes from an era when cars could overtake through driver skill. Do you mean Max comes from an era when cars mainly overtake using DRS?

      3. You must be a new DTS fan. DRS was introduced in 2011.

        1. @AM, or anyone really, what does DTS stand for?

          1. Drive to survive, the Netflix show.

            1. Tielmist, thank you. I should have guessed that. I was thinking DTS must be some sort of German Sports Touring series. I’ve never watched Drive To Survive. I don’t find much interest in the “drama” they try to create around sports events, but nowadays every sports program seems to have pundits who spend to much time talking, and not enough actual porting action.

    27. Long time Ferrari fan here, Verstappen during his formative years 2016-2019 had the habbit of crashing into Ferraris because Mercedes was just too far ahead most of the time. This whole attitube changed with Leclerc simply because for all his politeness and baby face, Charles is as unhinged as him behind the wheel. The main difference between those 2 is that Leclerc is respectful against Hamilton and a lunatic against Verstappen, in other words adapts. Verstappen is very robust with Leclerc that’s why their duels are epic, but unecessarily aggressive with Hamilton. This has escalated to being personal between them now and Hamilton won’t back down anymore. That being said Vestappen is the instigator of this tension so whatever happens in the foreseeable future will be mostly his doing.

    28. If turning in on your opponent from the outside of a corner is okay can schumacher’s 1997 WDC points be reinstated please? ;)

      1. Good point. Sunday there was no way the stewards were going to penalise the honorary citizen. This sport has now reached 100% political driven decision making from race control.

    29. Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
      14th November 2022, 11:04

      The bit that’s hard to get across and presumably why the stewards made their decision is the fact the only reason Max got as alongside as he did was because he didn’t slow significantly for the corner for his tight inside line, the threw it in there at full throttle where Hamilton slowed slightly for the corner. It was another disappearing gap lunge. If Lewis left him more space Max would have just understeered wide anyway and used Lewis as a cushion.

    30. “Being a racing driver means you are racing with other people and if you no longer go for a gap that exists you are no longer a racing driver because we are competing.

      Ayrton Senna

      1. @us-brian, whilst I’d be reluctant to argue with Senna’s words, I think the point is that Verstappen was going for a gap which did not exist. I think if he could have got to the corner at that speed AND held it around the inside line of the corner, then yes, you would have to question Hamilton’s turn in, but even on full right lock, he couldn’t get remotely around the inside. At that speed it was inevitable he would collide with Hamilton on the outside unless Hamilton ran wide and braked. Max had the option of hitting the brake pedal and cutting the corner on the inside to avoid a collision but didn’t. He ended up so far off the opposite side of the track that it is hard to see how he could argue it was a valid way of taking the corner.

        1. If the gap didn’t exist how come his entire car was in it? And how come even Mick Schumacher did get it right being in the same position as Hamilton?

      2. @us-brian Senna used this quote to justify ramming Prost deliberately off the track. In Senna’s case, there was never a gap to begin with. Which kind of makes this quote by Senna worthless.

        1. @Matthijs, thank you for giving that quote some context. I’ve often heard it quoted but never realised the context of it. Now that I know it was trotted out as an excuse for his own collision, it makes it a lot less compelling. If the same thing had been said instead by Pastor Maldonado, for instance, I doubt anyone would be requoting it.

    31. “It cost him the race win, for me it gave me five seconds.”.
      Just like Monza 2021 eh? You just lunge knowing HAM could possibly win the race whilst you don’t lose that much if you collide. Where is that intention coming from seriously?

    32. You should’ve left him more space.

    33. Verstappen did the same thing to russell on saturday, running him out of space.
      But Russell isn’t braindead and cannot afford to crash just to prove a point so he waited and made the pass later.

      Stop acting like that move isn’t done on that corner. So with verstappen you either leave the way wide open or better be prepared to be taken out? The guy admitted he knew it wasn’t going to work and did it anyway.

      It’s not 50-50.

    34. I thought Hamilton deserved the penalty, not Verstappen. Hamilton knew Verstappen was alongside him and knew a good 60% of his car was on the kerbs – Hamilton had all the space to play with and gave none. Can certainly argue it was a high risk move and Verstappen could have backed out, but so could Hamilton have not cut across knowing there was a car there. If anyone deserved a penalty it’s both of them. They’re both very gifted but I think they just lose all sense of perspective when racing each other.

    35. Hamilton got under Verstappen’s skin, but Verstappen got under Hamilton’s skin to the same extend. They rather crash out than lose out in a duel. Because think about it:
      – Why would Verstappen dive into a gap of which he already knew Hamilton would close it?
      – Why would Hamilton drive towards the apex when he knew that there is a car on the inside?

      They both chose to go for the collision. Both Hamilton and Verstappen get a red mist when battling against each other. It gets rather tiring as a spectator.

    36. Hamilton fans who say Max turned in on him at Copse last year will completely contradict themselves by blaming Max for this collision.
      Max was a lot further alongside and right over on the inside kerb giving Lewis plenty of space.
      Last year Lewis was a car width away from the inside and hit front wheel to back wheel.
      People on here just get blinded by fanaticism and comment without looking at what’s in front of them.

    37. Max wasn’t penalized for the collision; he was penalized for forcing Hamilton off the circuit

    38. Verstappen colision shows that after all Ham cannot claim Max is favoured over him. Max has never been favoured over Ham. Racing incidents don’t exist for f1, for some odd reason. Max and Hamilton never give an inch, combine the 2 and one car is always going to go off track.

      1. Except for T4 Brazil last season and Jeddah, both WDC defining moments.

    39. Typical Max. Lunge expecting the other driver to jump out of the way. He deserved the penalty

    40. Max has form for divebombing, see T4 last year.

      1. T4 in Brazil last year was disgraceful as an isolated incident. I do believe Max was happy to take Lewis out to recoup some of the Silverstone points which gave Lewis the chance at the title in the first place.
        I’m not saying that was right but it was all out war at this stage when you put it into context.

    41. Ever thought MV still feels like he hasn’t won or deserved a world title?? That is what he might think not anyone else?

      He got lucky last year and Red Bull overspent in the process.

      No one knows what has happened this year but you can guarantee the over spend from last year has helped.

      I am sure there are plenty of people in F1, not all, who are telling him he is an illegitimate champion and he still feels like he has things to prove including not letting LH win a race this season. First time in how long?

      I suspect there is more going on than is obvious.

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