Max Verstappen clashed with Lewis Hamilton during the dramatic final stages of Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix, costing the Red Bull driver any chance of a podium finish
Lewis Hamilton claims that Max Verstappen's team will always have 'hostility' towards him following their collision during the Hungarian Grand Prix.
On lap 63 of the thrilling 70-lap race in Budapest on Sunday, Hamilton and Verstappen were battling over third place when they made contact going into Turn One. Attempting to chase down his old rival, Red Bull driver Verstappen tried to overtake the Mercedes star but ended up airborne and off the track.
Verstappen was able to recover quickly but lost P4 to Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. Hamilton and Verstappen have a history of on-track incidents, with their most infamous collision coming at Silverstone in 2021 during one of the hottest title fights in Formula 1 history.
Although the FIA stewards deemed that no further action should be taken, the reigning world champion blamed Hamilton for their latest clash before the Brit gave his side of the story, and looked at the bigger picture of their relationship.
"We passed a backmarker, I got to the braking zone and then Max appeared to overtake the car behind me, so I moved over to defend," Hamilton explained after finishing third behind Lando Norris and winner Oscar Piastri.
"I left enough room in the inside, but Max locked up. He was going a different trajectory to me. I was going towards the corner and he came shooting across. It felt like a racing incident. It's easy to make mistakes like that. So I don't feel there should be any hostility. But of course, from his side, there always will be."
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner agreed that the drivers' clash with a 'racing incident', although Verstappen was less equable. "I went for a move that was on but in the middle of the braking zone, when I'm committed to the move, he just keeps moving right," the Dutchman, who hasn't won any of the last three Grands Prix, fumed.
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"If I hadn't turned while braking straight I would have made contact with him. I lock up because he just keeps turning to the right. People made a lot about what happened in Austria [when he clashed with McLaren ace Norris], 'It was not correct, blah blah blah'.
"But that was on the initial move and then you just brake straight, but now it's not an initial move, during the braking zone he keeps turning right. You cannot do that when someone has committed to the inside.
"That's why I locked up, otherwise we would have collided anyway because he turned in on me. We'll see. I went for a move that was fully on and I don't think I braked too late, but we came together."
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