Hamilton tough on Verstappen: ‘This is not how a World Champion behaves’

It has been a tough few weeks for the Dutchman and Red Bull. They have been without a win since the Spanish Grand Prix, and they have been struggling to find the pace and consistency that let them dominate the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The frustration grew and grew for the three-time World Champion, and at the Hungararing, those tensions exploded, with many messages coming from Verstappen complaining about the car full of swear words.

Hamilton says Verstappen's conduct was not of a World Champion

There have been comments on Verstappen's conduct over the radio after the Grand Prix in Budapest, and Hamilton is the latest to have his say on the matter, he was extremely critical of the Dutchman's handling of the difficulties he faced in the cockpit.

"As a team leader, as a team member, as a teammate, you have to act like a World Champion," started the seven-time World Champion, speaking at the Belgian Grand Prix to several media sources, including GPblog. He was then asked whether those comments from Verstappen portrayed that, to which Hamilton bluntly replied: "Not like it was last weekend."

There is still a lot of rivalry between Hamilton and Verstappen, all stemming from their titanic battle in 2021. That rivalry showed itself once again when the two of them came together at the first corner. Verstappen went for a huge luge down the inside, locking up his front tyres and bashing wheels with Hamilton as he turned and squeezed Verstappen. The tension was still there, but that incident resulted in a racing incident.

The Mercedes driver did comment on how he deals with difficulty when he is driving, saying, "With difficulty. I think you just have to keep exploring and keep trying. We've tried so many setups. Ultimately, you've got to understand that it doesn't have to always be bad, but you have to work with people who can make a difference. So communication with people on the team, be as detailed as you can be in the debriefs of what the issues are so nothing is lost in translation.

"For me, for us, we go back to the simulator we work on there, we go back to the factory and we sit and speak to all the heads of the departments, for example, and just making sure we're all aligned. Go into the wind tunnel, making sure that the people who are working on those upgrades feel like they're with you on the road and you're understanding exactly everything, the steps they're taking to even get to where it is you want to be. That's what we've done. It makes it so much more of a joy," Hamilton concluded.