Lewis Hamilton recalls Verstappen incident branded ‘out of order’ by Newey in FIA plea

In the aftermath of the Max Verstappen vs Lando Norris controversy in Austin, Lewis Hamilton said it is time for the FIA to change the regulations on F1 wheel-to-wheel combat.

However, it is an issue which Hamilton said he can trace back years, as he brought up the 2021 Brazilian Grand Prix where he and Verstappen went to battle as their epic title clash was approaching its crescendo. Both drivers took to the run-off at Interlagos’ Turn 4 as Hamilton attempted a pass around the outside and Verstappen hit the brakes late.

Lewis Hamilton tells FIA ‘something needs to be done’

Like in Brazil, Verstappen was not penalised in Austin when both he and F1 2024 title rival Lando Norris went off at Turn 12 as Norris tried a move around the outside. Instead, Norris got a five-second penalty after he re-joined ahead of Verstappen in P3, the stewards deeming him to have left the track and gained an advantage.

Hamilton was asked by reporters ahead of the Mexican GP whether he thought the F1 racing guidelines need tweaking after those Verstappen v Norris fireworks, as Hamilton stressed his belief that this is far from a new issue.

“I have for a long time and it’s interesting people talking about it now because the same thing happened to me in 2021,” he said.

“If you take Brazil into account, for example, under braking you’re ahead but then the [other] car just comes off the brakes and doesn’t make the corner and you have to go wide, but then they say you both went wide, but you had no choice, because you have to avoid a collision.

“I mean, there definitely needs to be something done about it, because it’s happening a lot now.

“You shouldn’t be able to come off the brakes and run more speed in and go off track and still hold your place.”

That incident in Brazil was one which former Red Bull F1 design guru Adrian Newey – who is on his way to Aston Martin from F1 2025 – recently claimed was one where Verstappen was “a bit out of order” in his actions defending from Hamilton.

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Asked during the High Performance Podcast whether Verstappen – now a three-time World Champion – ever shows signs of cracking, Newey replied: “I think a little bit perhaps in his championship win in ’21.

“Where the intensity, particularly after Silverstone, on track, between Lewis and Max became so intense, I think Max had very strong feelings on that Silverstone accident.

“And of course, he’d been clear championship leader going into Silverstone, then him out of the race, and then more or less out of the race in Hungary, when he got hit by Valtteri [Bottas], not intentional at all, but still got hit and pretty much hardly scored any points, so gone from easy championship leaders to now feeling a bit more pressure.

“And Mercedes managed to find quite a lot more pace out of their car towards the end of the season.

“So it’s always easier for the hunter than the hunted. And Max was starting, I think, to just feel a little bit of pressure from the hunted. And hence that, he was, in reality, probably lucky not to get a penalty for his driving in Brazil.

“Saudi, where they had a bit of a dingdong, that was a little bit more… I think that was not clear, but Max was probably a bit out of order in Brazil in truth, so I think he was feeling it a bit.”

Verstappen takes a 57-point Drivers’ Championship lead over Norris into the Mexican Grand Prix, an event which Verstappen has won a record five times.

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