F1 veteran Kimi Raikkonen, who will retire from the sport at the end of the season, has given his take on the controversial incident between Max Verstappen and Sir Lewis Hamilton in the 2021 Sao Paulo GP.
The incident – which involved Verstappen outbraking himself in a desperate bid to stop a charging Hamilton from taking the lead of the grand prix – saw both drivers go wide.
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The Dutchman escaped penalty, but many in the paddock felt that he should have been penalised, as there would have been contact had Hamilton not taken evasive action.
Asked for his thoughts on the near-collision, Raikkonen suggested that it was overblown by the media.
“ I don’t know. Obviously, they both went off,” the 2007 F1 World Champion said, as quoted by GP Fans.
“They didn’t touch each other so there’s not much to say about it really. I don’t think there was anything crazy. I’ve seen a lot more worse things. I’ve been involved in worse things.
“As I said, a lot has been written on something that’s made much worse than it actually is.”
In the same interview, the Finnish driver said he doesn’t have an interest in who wins this year’s Championship.
“For me, it doesn’t matter,” Raikkonen said. “Whoever has the most points at the end of the last race [will win].
“Honestly, I think everyone that gets close is always going to be in a lot of tight battles and one will be upset one day and the next another day.
“But I think a lot has been written about it and making a big story out of not so many things in my view, but that is I guess F1, or the media.”
Heading into the last two races of the 2021 season, Verstappen sits at the top of the Drivers’ Standings with an eight-point cushion to Hamilton.
The battle for the Constructors’ Championship is also very close, with Red Bull just five points adrift of Mercedes.
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