Lewis Hamilton rejected Max Verstappen’s frustration after the pair were engaged in a terse first-lap battle at the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix.
The Brit, starting fourth at the new Madring circuit, got a good start and went into Turn 1 alongside Verstappen with Lando Norris and Andrea Kimi Antonelli ahead.
Verstappen went onto the run-off area, and in the process, took second off Antonelli, leading Hamilton to suggest over radio that the Dutchman ought to give the place back.
Thankfully for the Ferrari driver, Verstappen’s race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, agreed, and made the request to his driver, who met it with a less-than-contrite response, concluding: “F***ing Mickey Mouse racing, this is.”
After the race, in which Verstappen managed to take second place, made his point clear, reasoning that there would have been contact had he not taken avoiding action.
“I would have had damage at the start, if I would have stayed on track,” he told media, including Motorsport Week.
“But then the win was also not on. It’s as simple as that. I just did my own thing in Turn 1. But Lewis went for a move on the first two, and bottomed out on the kerbs. So he just jumped back onto the track, and that’s why I had to go off the road.
“If I would have stayed there, I would have definitely had contact. So then my race could have potentially been over in Turn 2. And that’s why I think where we are now, I’m happy to be where we are now.”
Lewis Hamilton brands Max Verstappen battle ‘pretty good racing’
Any possibility of Hamilton recommencing his battle with Verstappen was short-lived, as a brake issue just a few laps later saw him retire from the race.
But when pressed on the issue after the race, the seven-time World Champion refuted Verstappen’s importance towards the matter, telling media, including Motorsport Week: “I thought it was pretty good racing.”
When summing up his race, Hamilton reflected that the brake pedal briefly began to work again, but it terminally “went long.”
“I had a good start. I didn’t see Max during that start,” he summarised. “I wasn’t in the battle going down into Turn 5 but then it was when I went into Turn 5, the brake started stopping and then the pedal took a step and it wouldn’t stop all of a sudden.
“I ended up going wide and that’s when I just tapped the barrier, but it didn’t feel like a bad touch.
“Then the pedal came back, and it was fine all the next corners. Things were looking OK – then the pedal went long. That was it.”
The DNF took a potentially finite blow to Hamilton’s dwindling title hopes, with Antonelli profiting from Norris’ VSC misery to score another win.
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