Lewis Hamilton has claimed that Max Verstappen did not behave like a Formula 1 World Champion with his conduct throughout last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
Verstappen was criticised over his radio conversations with race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase at the Hungaroring as his temper escalated to boiling point in the race.
The Dutchman was incensed as Red Bull’s strategic calls saw him slip from third to fifth and gave him ground to make up in an RB20 that wasn’t handling to his liking.
Verstappen’s building anger culminated in a late dive on Hamilton at Turn 1 in the closing stages which saw the pair make contact and the Red Bull driver go airborne.
But while his expletive-ridden exchanges over the radio were condemned in some quarters post-race, Verstappen then swore at individuals who chastised his actions.
Hamilton, who experienced Mercedes slipping down the order in 2022, has advised Verstappen to adopt a collective mindset when digesting Red Bull’s recent trouble.
Asked how Verstappen can cope with Red Bull losing its competitive edge over the opposition, Hamilton said: “You have to be a team leader, a team member.
“Maybe not such a leader, but just always remember you are a team-mate to a lot of people. You have to act like a World Champion.“
Pressed on what acting like an F1 World Champion comprised, Hamilton proceeded to add: “Not like it was last weekend.”
However, Verstappen has denied that there was a problem with his dialogue and believes that it prevents members within the team from not being held accountable.
“That’s our approach, I think it’s important you can be critical,” he retorted.
“Because in this world we are living now I feel anyway a lot of people can’t take criticism anymore like it used to be and I don’t want to end up like that.”
Meanwhile, the three-time F1 champion has contended that all his responses were natural when the pressure is at its most intense and matters aren’t running to plan.
“When things are not going how they should have been, I think it’s quite normal that you can share your frustration with it,” he explained. “And that’s what I did.
“Of course when you are full of adrenaline and things are happening in the race that you are not happy with, yeah, you voice your frustration.
“But then also after the meeting, it’s quite clear, you talk about these things.
“That’s what we did was not optimal in terms of how we executed the race, and we learned from it, and you just move on.”
Asked whether he had spoken with Lambiase since Budapest, Verstappen added: “No, not yet, but he’s arriving today, and we’ll discuss it but like we always do.
“Some things, when you don’t hear anything about it, we always discuss stuff. It’s quite normal.”
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