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Wolff denounces Verstappen for 'revenge' on Hamilton: 'Ruined Lewis' lap'
- GPblog.com
Toto Wolff does not like Max Verstappen 's reaction to an incident with Lewis Hamilton in the Sprint Shootout in Austria. Hamilton got in Verstappen's way, but according to Wolff, the latter then "retaliated" by doing the same back.
During qualifying for the sprint race, Verstappen and Hamilton clashed at the Red Bull Ring. Verstappen stated that the Mercedes driver blocked him in the final corner, an action the Dutchman could not appreciate. Shortly afterwards, another incident occurred between the two drivers, with the roles reversed.
Where Hamilton started a fast lap, Verstappen seemed to be driving a cool-down lap. However, the Red Bull Racing driver himself indicated that he too wanted to make another attempt because of the time loss he had suffered in his previous lap. However, there was no more time or space for that, resulting in an incident where Verstappen got in Hamilton's way at the first corner.
Wolff says Verstappen took 'revenge'
"The mistake happened on our side," Wolff admitted to Sky Sports. "The communication between us and Lewis didn't give him the right information to get out of Max's way. I think no one wants to be in anybody's way because if you impede, you're getting penalised, so that was not the aim."
The Mercedes team boss did see intent in Verstappen's action that followed shortly afterwards. "On the other side, Turn 1 was a revenge foul (by Verstappen). It was just to make sure that his (Hamilton's) lap was ruined. So one was not intentional, the other one was intentional - but who cares? At the end, we looked at whether it was going to change our race or not. But I think they're going to talk about it at the drivers' briefing next week," Wolff said.
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29 June 2024
