Despite not battling Ferrari, Max Verstappen appeared to see red at the Brazilian Grand Prix, after not one but two highly controversial moments at Interlagos.
Starting from third, Verstappen made a good start to the race and maintained his position on the opening lap, which saw a Safety Car released at the end of it following a collision between Friday’s pole man Kevin Magnussen and Daniel Ricciardo.
At the restart, Verstappen was quick to pounce on Lewis Hamilton going into Turn One, after getting the tip of his RB18 ahead around the outside of the opening corner.
Hamilton hung on to the inside line, which became the outside for Turn Two, where the 37-year-old managed to get half a car length ahead of his ferocious rival.
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Then came the controversial moment, as Verstappen remained on the inside of Hamilton despite the Mercedes driver shutting the door on the Dutchman.
To no shock, the pair collided with each other, something that arguably affected the Brit’s race more than the Dutchman’s.
Whilst Verstappen was forced to pit for a new front-wing which dropped him to last, he made his way back to sixth by the chequered flag.
Hamilton suffered from some floor damage as a result and dropped outside the top five, meaning he had to fight his way back into the podium places.
The Stevenage-born driver did end up finishing second; however, the incident arguably cost him victory in his beloved Brazil.
Verstappen was actually judged to be at fault for the incident by the FIA, something Red Bull boss Christian Horner disagreed with.
Horner believed the penalty was “harsh” on the double World Champion, with the collision having been a “racing incident at best”.
Ex-F1 driver turned Sky Sports F1 pundit Martin Brundle immediately deemed the incident more Hamilton’s fault than Verstappen’s.
Whilst commentating on the altercation, Brundle deemed that the Red Bull driver should’ve been given “more racing room” by Hamilton, something there clearly wasn’t.
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“I think he earned the right to more racing room, I’ll stick with that,” said ex-F1 driver Brundle after seeing a replay of the collision.
Brundle remained adamant that the incident wasn’t the Dutchman’s fault, after footage from another angle was shown.
“I’m not changing my mind, I’m not changing my mind,” Brundle added.