The tension was palpable between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton for several months. It may have reached its climax on Sunday afternoon at the Monza Grand Prix in Italy. On lap 26, when the Briton has just left his pit, the Red Bull driver tries to overtake him but does not have enough space in the turn: his car climbs onto the Mercedes and almost hits Hamilton’s skull. The Dutchman leaves his vehicle without worrying about his counterpart and returns to his stand on foot where he accuses Hamilton of not having left him room in the curve.
At the end of the race, Lewis Hamilton spoke about this collision and showed his skepticism about the outcome of a discussion with Max Verstappen about it: “The impact was pretty heavy, it leaned on my head. I just took a shower and some anti-inflammatory drugs. I know I was in front on entering the turn and it ended like that. I’m open to discussion but it won’t change anything, I don’t think he will change his approach. “
McLaren’s comeback
While the Red Bull and Mercedes teams struggled to conceal their dissatisfaction after this incident, the McLaren technicians let their joy burst out. Indeed, the drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris took advantage of this to bring back the British team’s first double since 2010. Second after qualifying the day before, Ricciardo made a thunderous start to quickly regain pole position. occupied by Verstappen. “It worked well for me but, even if I had started well, there was no guarantee for the future, he explained after his victory. It was still enough to keep Max at bay but from start to finish I didn’t expect that. “
The Australian driver, who had not triumphed since Monaco in 2018, thus offered the First Grand Prix to the McLaren team since 2012. “I was a little behind since the start of the year, I had places a little more distant, recalls Ricciardo who split a few words in Italian in reference to his roots. The summer break did me good, I felt better. It’s great for McLaren. “
Lando Norris was in a duel with Hamilton for a place on the podium during the first half of the race and was therefore able to climb an extra step. In the last third of the race, the 22-year-old Briton even complained about not seeing his teammate escape further in the lead, to which Ricciardo finally responded in the final laps by setting the fastest time. on the last lap in 1′24′’812. “When I joined the team four years ago, everyone was working for this win,” says Norris. I am here for the long term with the team. I am happy for Daniel’s victory and I will have my chance in the future. “
Disappointment for Gasly
In the standings, Max Verstappen remains leader with 226.5 points, still closely followed by Lewis Hamilton at 221.5 points. Valtteri Bottas completed the podium after a good comeback during this Monza Grand Prix. Starting in 19th position, the Finnish driver crossed the finish line in fourth position but finally climbed to third step thanks to the 5-second penalty awarded to Sergio Pérez.
At the end of the race, the Mercedes driver nonetheless tempered his performance by referring to his teammate’s accident: “I told the team that I would be on the podium so I’m happy (…) We lost points in the collision between Verstappen and Hamilton. “
On the French side, Pierre Gasly had to throw in the towel in the fifth round. “We have a problem with the car and the team preferred to give up so as not to damage it more,” said the Normand, who has just extended with AlphaTauri. Esteban Ocon managed to narrowly enter the top 10.
Next meeting in Sochi in two weeks for the Russian Grand Prix where the reunion between Verstappen and Hamilton will be closely scrutinized.
