F1 News
Was it a deliberate crash by Verstappen? "He’s got a points advantage"
- GPblog.com
The opinions are clearly divided after the crash between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Some point at Lewis Hamilton, others at Max Verstappen and yet others point at a racing incident. Damon Hill points at Verstappen and even wonders if it was a deliberate action.
The race seemed lost for Verstappen after a failed pit stop by his team. The pit stop lasted eleven seconds and it put the Dutchman out of immediate contention. After a great out-lap he still came close to Hamilton when he came out of the pits, the overtaking attempt of Verstappen however cost them both dearly.
Deliberate action of Verstappen?
''I have to say, looking at the replay of Max on Lewis at Turn 1, there was no way he was going to make that work. He had to take evasive action, as Lewis did in the second chicane to avoid an accident, so the only conclusion is he might have been thinking ‘I have to take him out’,'' the 1996 world champion told Sky Sports.
''Now I don’t want to think that of any driver, but I think it was either an error of judgement or a calculated move to collide with Lewis. Which is strong, strong stuff, and I don’t like the idea that I’m accusing anyone of doing that, but he’s got a points advantage and this was a race which Mercedes was supposed to win," Hill concludes.