Clever Lewis Hamilton trick spotted after Max Verstappen investigation
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen: the best of enemies
Sky F1 pundit Anthony Davidson has praised Lewis Hamilton for having the “capacity” to “survive” his close call with Max Verstappen during the Hungarian Grand Prix.
It comes after the FIA took no further action against Verstappen after a post-race stewards’ investigation.
Lewis Hamilton ‘capacity’ praised after Max Verstappen incident triggers FIA investigation
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
Verstappen and Hamilton found themselves at the centre of a post-race investigation in Hungary after a close call at Turn 4 on Lap 29.
The Red Bull driver launched an aggressive move down Hamilton’s inside at the fast left-hander, with the Ferrari taking to the run-off area to avoid the collision.
Both drivers were summoned to the stewards shortly after the race, but Hamilton opted to waive his right to attend the hearing.
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The stewards found no grounds for further action against Verstappen, who was cleared of forcing another car off the track.
Appearing on Sky F1’s post-race coverage of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Davidson praised both drivers for being “sensible” in wheel-to-wheel combat.
And he singled out Hamilton for seeing Verstappen coming and having the “capacity” to avoid contact.
He said: “This was the moment of the race.
“Max tries to send it down the inside and it [initially] looks like he had a reason to be there as you come close to the apex to the corner; it’s funny what different camera angles do sometimes when you look at how people race.
“The two of them were sensible as well, as you’d expect.
“Lewis having that capacity you would expect from the seven-time World Champion to not crash into each other, although you could argue Max forces him off the circuit.
“Lewis [is] looking towards the apex and obviously can see somewhere in his mirror – unbelievably at those speeds, I must say – where Verstappen is.
“The rule says for the car trying to overtake on the inside, the front axle must be in line with the mirror of the car. As the rule goes, Max hasn’t got his front axle alongside.
“There was no contact. Lewis acted accordingly and somehow managed to survive.
“Many drivers would have just turned in on the normal racing line and there would have been contact.
“There would have been a high-speed spin, so that’s something to consider there. So well done to Lewis for avoiding that one.”
Verstappen went on to collect two points for ninth place with Hamilton finishing 12th, having failed to reach Q3 for the second successive weekend 24 hours later.
Davidson felt Hamilton’s underperformance in qualifying, as team-mate Charles Leclerc stormed to a fine pole position, set the tone for a challenging race.
He added: “It’s not really the race he wanted today. Not the race that Verstappen wanted either. But that happens when the car hasn’t quite got the performance.”
“And unluckily for Lewis as well, those two-and-a-half tenths that he was away from Leclerc in Q2 eventually meant that he couldn’t get through to Q3.
“That’s why his day was so difficult today and that’s, I believe, what he’s reflecting on still at this moment right now.”
Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com after the race, Verstappen admitted to being surprised at being called to the stewards as “nothing happened” in his close call with Hamilton.
And he felt Hamilton’s absence from the post-race hearing proved the Ferrari driver agreed that an investigation was unnecessary.
Verstappen said: “The thing is that nothing happened. We didn’t even touch, that’s the thing.
“So, for me, it’s a bit difficult to understand why we had the investigation after the race.
“We explained our side. Well, Lewis was not there, but we explained our side of the story.
“I don’t think Lewis actually felt a lot for it [the investigation]. Because if he really felt something for it, he’s there in the stewards’ room, right?
“I think both of us didn’t have the best of weekends anyway, so that’s just that one little thing.
“What is the more important thing is that we have to look at our performance, which was not good.
“I went for a move at the inside because it’s a fast corner, but with downforce you’re a bit more under control anyway.
“I think he realised very late that I was up the inside there. So then he turned out of it a little bit and then, of course, went off the track and that was it.
“We didn’t touch. Nothing happens.”
More on Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton from PlanetF1.com
The investigation in Hungary came just weeks after the FIA made its Driving Standards Guidelines – updated in the aftermath of last year’s United States Grand Prix after two high-profile incidents between Verstappen and Lando Norris – publicly available.
Verstappen went on to claim that the various rules imposed on drivers in racing situations today resulted in the FIA’s call to launch an investigation despite there being no contact.
He added: “I think the problem is that we have so many rules, of course, it’s always a complicated matter.
“It’s not always super clear with things.
“But it’s always a bit weird that you have to go to the stewards for something that you didn’t have even a contact or whatever.”
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