Lewis Hamilton has been reluctant to blame Max Verstappen for sending him off track at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, saying the incident that brought them close to each other in Round 4 was a “tough fight”.
Hamilton won Sunday’s race to close the gap with Verstappen on the championship to 14 points with three races left to run.
He started from tenth on the grid and had to overtake the Red Bull driver on the track to secure victory.
By round 19 he rose to second and in round 48 he was close enough to Verstappen to try to move the round outside of Round 4 to take the lead.
Hamilton took the lead over Verstappen to get into the corner, but Red Bull missed the top, ran wide and forced Hamilton to run out.
Verstappen held the position and although the incident was noted by race control, it was not investigated by the managers.
“I think I’ve got the lead and I think he’s held his ground and we’re both out of the way,” Hamilton said. “Well, I think he’s running out of lane, so obviously I have to stay out of the way… but I mean, I don’t think much of that and obviously I’ll have to watch the replay.
“But it’s hard to fight and really wouldn’t expect anything less. We didn’t touch the wheel, which is fine.”
Asked if he thought Verstappen was wrong, Hamilton added: “I won’t go into that. I need to look at it again but it was a racing incident and it probably doesn’t really matter. important. I got the result. needed.”
Verstappen said he ran very wide into the corner because he thought it would be safer than trying to take the corner.
“Of course, we were both trying to get ahead into the corner, and so I braked a little bit behind to try to keep the position and the tires were a bit worn,” Verstappen said. “So I was really on the edge of the grip, so that’s why I think I wasn’t quite at the top.
“And it’s a safer way, just run a little wide there. Of course, I’m happy when the managers decide that we can continue racing, because I think the race in general today really good now.”
Race director Michael Masi, who was not one of the managers but addressed the incidents to them, said the fact that the cars didn’t collide and both blew up could be a factor prevent the case from being investigated.
“I think if you look at the close proximity of the cars heading towards the top, where it is located, the nature of the corner, the fact that both cars blew up, neither car lost its position or anything like that, that might be the general opinion,” he said.
However, Masi said he considered handing a black and white flag – used to indicate unsportsmanlike behavior – to Verstappen, which he used later in the race as Verstappen knitted in a straight line. between Turn 3 and Turn 4.
“That definitely came to my mind,” he said. “I’ve reviewed it a few times and honestly, it’s not far from a black and white flag for Max.”
Two black and white flags in a race means that riders will be reported to management about a potential penalty.
