Lewis Hamilton: message to Max Verstappen after Q1 battle

It was a battle worthy of the old days, but one that will leave no aftermath.

Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone is among Saturday’s disappointments, after a qualifying that will force him to start only seventh at the British Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion, however, made headlines for some on-track skirmishes with longtime rival Max Verstappen. At the end of the day, however, it was the Mercedes driver himself who downplayed them.

In the chaos of late Q1, with all times improving considerably in the last three minutes before the end of the session, Verstappen in fact rather aggressively overtook his colleague who was zigzagging to warm up his tires. There was a vague risk of contact between the two. Hamilton himself, a few meters later, moreover set about overtaking other single-seaters.

“When Max overtook me, for me there was no problem whatsoever,” Hamilton still wanted to declare. Then, on the situation of his Mercedes: “The conditions were difficult, but we were not fast enough today. Seeing how close we were to the Ferraris, yet coming in behind both of them, was frustrating. But I’m confident of making a comeback, as we’re doing better on the race pace than on the dry lap.”