Max Verstappen dramatically collided with Lewis Hamilton during the final stages of the Hungarian Grand Prix. Verstappen tried to overtake Hamilton into turn one, clipped the Mercedes driver’s right front tire, and was launched into the air. After going off track on lap 63, Verstappen lost momentum, ending his hopes of finishing third. He had attacked from a distance and locked up both front wheels before hitting Hamilton.
Oscar Piastri won the race, with Verstappen finishing fifth. Lando Norris took second place, ahead of Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. Throughout the race, Verstappen appeared frustrated. The stewards investigated the collision with Hamilton, but Verstappen maintained he did nothing wrong, asserting that his move was “fully on.”
He told Sky Sports: “I went for a move that was fully on. In the middle of the braking zone, when I’m already committed, he just keeps moving right. If I hadn’t turned while braking, we would have made contact. Naturally, I locked up because he just kept turning right.”
Verstappen also mentioned that if his team had employed a better strategy, the incident might not have occurred. “At the end of the day, if we’d had a better strategy, you’re not in that position. I don’t think I braked too late.”
He expressed frustration with his team’s strategy during the race: “On a day when we are already lacking pace compared to McLaren, you hope to do the right things with strategy, which wasn’t the case today. The first undercut was not ideal. We tried to go longer, but my pace wasn’t good. On the hard tires, I tried to close up but got stuck behind Lewis, losing many seconds.”
Verstappen also stated that he doesn’t feel the need to apologize for his vocal radio messages: “I don’t think we need to apologize; we just need to do a better job. This is a sport. If some people don’t like that, then stay home.”
Hamilton, on the other hand, admitted he laughed following the incident, describing it as “hair-raising” but typical of motor racing: “It’s not nerve-wracking. When you see the pace at which they closed the gap in certain corners, you just laugh to yourself because it’s not something I can do. I saw him coming from a long way back, and he was able to brake a lot later than me. He sent it up the inside, I stayed still, and he clipped the wheel and went over. I think it was a racing incident.”
Earlier, Verstappen had expressed anger with Red Bull’s strategy, calling it “s*** strategy” over the team radio. Despite being instructed not to overuse his tires, he ignored those commands. The 26-year-old had finished second at the British Grand Prix and fifth in Austria and has won seven races this season.