Max Verstappen breaks silence on ‘smoking gun’ incident

The controversial incident occurred on lap 48 at Interlagos as the Dutchman looked to have run both himself and title rival Hamilton off the track having taken a shallow line into Turn 4 after the Brit passed him entering the corner and controlled the racing line.

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Hamilton passed Verstappen 11 laps later and carried on to win the grand prix, which was described by many as one of the seven-time world champion’s greatest ever drives. Verstappen is now just 14 points ahead in the drivers’ standings with three races left this season.

FIA stewards did not view the on-board footage from Verstappen’s Red Bull car — a decision Mercedes boss Toto Wolff blasted as “laughable” — but the footage was eventually released and almost immediately Mercedes called for a review into the incident.

F1 race director Michael Masi said the sport’s governing body requested the on-board footage from Verstappen’s Red Bull, because it could be a “smoking gun” that provides fresh evidence of what really happened on lap 48.

“Could be, absolutely. Possibly,” Masi said. “But no, we didn’t have access to it. And obviously, it’s being downloaded. And once the commercial rights holder supplies it, we’ll have a look.”

An official decision is yet to be made as to whether Verstappen will be punished but both Red Bull and Mercedes have made their case as to why their drivers are in the right.

Verstappen took a veiled swipe at Mercedes and maintained the moment between the pair was nothing more than “hard racing”.

“I think they already said after they got disqualified they’re going to complain about every single thing, even if there’s tape hanging loose,” Verstappen told Sky Sports.

“I think that’s a normal reaction, that’s why it’s kind of expected.

“It’s a bit of a difference [to Silverstone]. He still won the race, whereas in Silverstone I was in the wall. Those two are not the same. They were upset by being disqualified.

“If it had been the other way around in Brazil (Hamilton defending into Turn 4), it would have exactly played out like that.

“It’s hard racing. We are fighting for a championship, we are not here to be in a kindergarten.

“That’s how it should be.”

Even after the on-board footage of the incident came to light, the 24-year-old didn’t seem terribly concerned over any potential sanctions.

“I didn’t need to look at the footage because I was driving the car so I know exactly what happened,” Verstappen said.

“Like I said last time out, I thought it was a great battle and I had a lot of fun out there.

“At the end of the day they won the race, they were faster than us, but it was a good battle.

“I just have to focus on what’s happening on track.”

Both Verstappen and Hamilton will look to put the incident behind them once the lights go out at the Qatar Grand Prix, scheduled to begin on Monday at 1am (AEDT).

– With James Matthey

Originally published as Max Verstappen breaks silence on ‘smoking gun’ incident with Lewis Hamilton