Max Verstappen does not regret having left the track during his duel with Lewis Hamilton in Madrid and assures that contact was otherwise inevitable.
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Max Verstappen stands firm after his very tense duel with Lewis Hamilton at the start of the Spanish Grand Prix. Forced to cut the first corners of the Madring before re-emerging in front of the Ferrari, the Red Bull driver believes he simply had no other option to avoid a collision.
The race direction, however, did not share this interpretation of the incident. Red Bull asked Verstappen to give back the positions gained, an instruction that made him drop from second to fourth place and provoked his anger on the radio. Despite this, the Dutchman believes his decision may have saved his race.
Verstappen furious with Red Bull’s decision
Everything was decided in the first few seconds of the Grand Prix. Starting third, Verstappen found himself involved in a battle with Hamilton in the first sequence of corners. The Ferrari driver tried to gain ground, while Verstappen left the track and took the escape road.
The four-time world champion emerged in second position behind Lando Norris, ahead of Kimi Antonelli and Hamilton. But after the incident caught the attention of race control, Red Bull asked him to give back his advantage.
Verstappen immediately challenged the instruction with his engineer Gianpiero Lambiase.
“What are you talking about, guys? He would have hit me. What are you talking about? If I just stay on track, my race is over.”
The Red Bull driver finally complied. Antonelli then Hamilton overtook him and Verstappen dropped to fourth place. The Briton’s retirement a few laps later, following a brake failure, quickly allowed him to regain a position.
“I would have inevitably had contact”
After the race, Verstappen was again questioned about this episode and the possibility that he could have fought for victory if he had maintained his second place. He rejects this hypothesis, as he believes that staying within the track limits would probably have caused an accident.
“I would have had damage at the start if I had stayed on track, so victory would not have been possible anyway. It’s as simple as that.”
Verstappen gives a very precise interpretation of Hamilton’s maneuver. According to him, the Ferrari driver climbed the kerb before his car was sent back towards the Red Bull’s trajectory.
“I simply followed my line into Turn 1, but Lewis attempted an attack in the first two corners and his car bottomed out on the kerb. That sent him back onto the track and that’s why I had to go off.”
For the Dutchman, the alternative scenario leaves practically no room for doubt.
“If I had stayed there, we would have inevitably had contact. My race could therefore potentially have ended as early as Turn 2. When I see where we finished, I am ultimately satisfied.”
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Hamilton sees no controversy
Hamilton’s interpretation is much less dramatic. Questioned after his retirement about the criticisms made by Verstappen, the seven-time world champion refused to enter into a new confrontation with his former rival.
The Ferrari driver simply felt that their battle was a normal Formula 1 duel.
“To be honest, I thought it was a very good battle on track.”
When asked to react more directly to Verstappen’s complaints, Hamilton also dismissed the subject by replying that it had “nothing to do with him”.
Verstappen admits not having the pace to win
Despite his frustration regarding the first lap, Verstappen ultimately secured a second place that far exceeded Red Bull’s expectations before the race. The virtual safety car that trapped Norris allowed him to get ahead of the McLaren, before maintaining that position until the finish.
The Dutchman, however, admits that this result does not fully reflect the performance level of his RB22. According to him, Antonelli and especially Norris were faster.
“We maximized the result. We probably had a bit of luck with Lando’s misfortune, because I didn’t have Kimi’s pace and certainly not Lando’s.”
The proximity to Antonelli during part of the race also gave him the impression of being able to fight for victory, but Verstappen believes this situation was misleading. The Mercedes driver was then slowed down by Charles Leclerc, who had delayed his pit stop.
“It might have given the impression that we were in the fight to win, but that was mainly because Kimi was stuck behind Charles. As soon as he found clear air, he pulled away again.”
A second place saved thanks to the Madring
Verstappen then had to focus all his attention on Norris. The Briton came back very quickly with fresher tires, but the characteristics of the Madring largely facilitated the Red Bull’s defense.
“I was busy with Lando behind me, but here, if you drive slightly in the middle of the track, it’s impossible to overtake.”
A new jab aimed at the Madrid circuit, which Verstappen had already severely criticized before the race for its lack of overtaking opportunities.
His second place nevertheless remains a particularly positive result given Red Bull’s actual pace. And even if he remains convinced that he was unfairly forced to give back his positions on the first lap, Verstappen prefers to remember the essential: by choosing the escape road rather than contact with Hamilton, he believes he saved a podium that could very well have disappeared as early as the second corner.
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