Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he “knew” Max Verstappen was involved when he saw an incident ahead during the Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix last weekend.
Verstappen clashed again with championship rival Lando Norris at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez as he strived to stop the McLaren driver from overtaking him.
The Dutchman was leading Norris in second place on Lap 10 when the latter’s attempt to make a move around the outside ended with him being pushed off the track.
Norris returned to the track ahead as he cut the next corner, though, leading Verstappen to launch an ambitious lunge down the inside of Turn 7 which sent both wide.
Verstappen received separate 10-second time penalties over the two episodes, resigning him to sixth position as Norris split the two Ferrari drivers to salvage second.
The Red Bull driver’s wild move on the entrance to the esses has drawn comparisons to a clash with Hamilton at the 2021 Sao Paulo Grand Prix that went unpunished.
But while Hamilton said that he was not able to draw similarities having not seen the events, the Mercedes driver admitted he was certain Verstappen was implicated.
When told Verstappen and Norris’ second incident was similar to that moment in Brazil, Hamilton told media including Motorsport Week: “I’ve not seen it.
“I could see a group of cars ahead and I saw a plume of smoke, of dust.”
“And I knew it was [him],” he laughed. “I knew it must have been [him]. [I was] like: ‘For sure, that’s him!’”
FIA poised to alter F1 racing guidelines
The stewards’ clampdown on Verstappen’s aggressive racing tactics came amid criticism that comparable incidents in the United States Grand Prix avoided sanction.
READ MORE – FIA dismiss McLaren right of review over Lando Norris F1 US GP penalty
A meeting between the drivers has prompted the FIA to look at revising the racing guidelines, with a new proposal set to be tabled at the Qatar Grand Prix next month.
Speaking prior to that development in Mexico last week, Hamilton expressed that Verstappen has been allowed to exploit uncertainties within the current racing rules.
“It’s always been a grey area,” the seven-time F1 champion told media including Motorsport Week. “That’s why he’s got away with it for so long.
“They probably need to make some adjustments, for sure.
“Also, we do have inconsistencies weekend in, weekend out, obviously, depending on which stewards are there.
“And as a sport, we do need to level up on all areas. We look at other global sports – they have full-time refs, for example, and I’m sure that wouldn’t be a bad thing for our sport.
“I experienced it many times with Max and you shouldn’t be able to just launch the car up the inside over your head and then go off and still hold your position.”
READ MORE – Toto Wolff: Past Max Verstappen F1 clashes going unpunished ‘legitimated’ his racing
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