Lewis Hamilton anticipated a collision with Max Verstappen after noticing a “plume of smoke” ahead of him during the opening laps of the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton revealed he assumed Max Verstappen was involved in an incident after seeing a “plume of smoke” in the early stages of the Mexico City Grand Prix.
The Dutchman collided with Lando Norris twice on lap 10 of 71 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with the Mercedes driver having a clear view of the second incident, approaching Turn 7.
Verstappen was eventually given a 10-second time penalty for his off-circuit excursion with the McLaren, after being determined to have left the track and gained a long-term advantage by driving Norris wide.
Coupled with an identical penalty for shoving the 24-year-old off at Turn 4, the Red Bull driver was forced to wait 20 seconds for his only pit stop of the race.
Verstappen recovered to sixth place, while Norris finished second, but the Briton could have won if not for the three-time drivers’ championship winner.
Hamilton confirmed that he had yet to witness a response to the coming together at Turn 7, but was not shocked that his erstwhile rival played a role in the drama that transpired ahead of him on track.
“I have not seen it,” the seven-time F1 driving champion told reporters, including RacingNews365.
“I saw a group of cars ahead and a plume of smoke, like dust, and I knew it was – I knew it had to be [Verstappen].”
The 39-year-old laughed and said, “Like, for sure it was him.”
Hamilton is well-versed in Verstappen’s racing style, having gone toe-to-toe – and blow-for-blow – with the Red Bull driver during their closely contested F1 drivers’ title duel during the extremely contentious 2021 season.
Following Norris and Verstappen’s late-race drama at the Circuit of the Americas in the previous round, the topic of driving standards dominated the weekend in Mexico City.
The 105-time grand prix champion was particularly vociferous on the subject, especially when it came to directly racing Verstappen and the stewards’ treatment of the 27-year-old’s strategy.
“It’s always been a grey area,” Hamilton explained before of the Mexico City Grand Prix. “That’s why he [Verstappen] has gotten away with it for so long.
“I’ve done it several times with Max. You shouldn’t be able to simply launch the car up the inside and go ahead, then move off and maintain your position.”
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