"Just one little thing," claims Verstappen after escaping penalty for his incident with Hamilton
Having avoided a penalty for his incident with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen claimed that their battle was "just one little thing" on a weekend when Red Bull seriously struggled for overall grip.
Max Verstappen ultimately crossed the line in P9 but his overtake on Lewis Hamilton faced a post-race investigation from the stewards – at Turn 4, the Red Bull driver surged past and the Ferrari took to the run-off area as a result.
Ultimately no further action was taken with the pair avoiding contact, with the stewards claiming that "there was no contact and
that the incident does not qualify as forcing another car off track despite the ambitious nature of the overtaking attempt."
"The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 1 (Max Verstappen), team representatives and video and in-car video evidence. The driver of Car 44 (Lewis Hamilton) waived his right to attend the hearing.
"The driver of Car 1 stated during the hearing that he had gained some momentum on Car 44 out of Turn 3 with fresher tyres and used this momentum to make a move on the inside into Turn 4. He further elaborated that he was in full control of his car and
could have stayed further to the inside to leave space for Car 44 on the exit.
"However he said, as Car 44 had gone off track, he elected to use all of the track on the exit.
"The team representative of Car 44 confirmed that there was no contact between both cars and further stated that the driver of Car 44 chose not to attempt to remain on track.
"Taking all this into account, the Stewards determine that there was no contact and that the incident does not qualify as forcing another car off track despite the ambitious nature of the overtaking attempt and take no further action," the stewards' statement read.
Reflecting on their battle Verstappen revealed that Hamilton did not go to the stewards' room in person when discussing the incident. The four-time F1 champion branded their battle as "just one little thing" on a weekend when Red Bull seriously struggled for overall grip.
"The thing is that nothing happened. We didn't even touch. That's the thing. So, for me, it's a bit difficult to understand why we have the investigation after the race.
"We explained our side, well, Lewis was not there, but we explained our side of the story. I don't think Lewis actually felt a lot for it, because if he really felt something for it, then of course he's there in the stewards' room.
"I think both of us didn't have the best of weekends anyway. That's just that one little thing. The more important thing is that we have to look at our performance, which was not good.
"I went for a move up the inside, because it's a fast corner, but with downforce, you're a bit more under control anyway.
"I think he realised very late that I was up the inside there. So then he turned out of it a little bit and then went off the track. And that was it. We didn't touch. Nothing happened."
