The Brazilian Grand Prix last weekend was somewhat deja vu for Lewis Hamilton, after being involved in an incident once again with Max Verstappen, his ferocious rival from 2021.
It was a regular theme of last season to see the Brit and the Dutchman collide, given that they often pushed each other to the absolute limit and often over it.
Their collision at Interlagos last weekend marked the second consecutive season where the pair have been involved in an altercation at the Brazilian circuit, with neither coming off particularly well this time around.
In 2021, Verstappen forced Hamilton off the circuit at Turn Four, before the Brit eventually got ahead of the Red Bull driver at the same corner 11 laps later, resulting in an almighty roar from the São Paulo crowd.
READ: ‘Not entirely clean’: Max Verstappen sent warning about Sergio Perez drama
That battle was for victory, whereas their fight last weekend was for second.
Following a Safety Car restart, Verstappen dived to the outside of the seven-time World Champion at the opening corner, where he did manage to get some of his car ahead.
However, as they then swept down the hill for the second corner, Hamilton got his W13 back in front, meaning he then took the racing line into the corner.
Verstappen remained on the inside of the 37-year-old and carried too much speed into the corner, resulting in contact between the duo.
The impact broke Verstappen’s front-wing and caused some minor floor damage for Hamilton, which potentially cost him victory.
Red Bull’s star driver was slapped with a five-second time penalty as a result, for being labelled as “predominantly at fault” for the collision.
READ: Lewis Hamilton insists he’s not ‘sulking’ about ‘rigged’ Abu Dhabi GP
Given how often the two champions collide, a reporter asked Hamilton if he believes Verstappen is ultra-aggressive with him due to his status as the greatest F1 driver of all-time.
Hamilton admitted that this could be the case, especially as there is “nothing deeper” between the two, who have rarely spoken over the years.
“There’s definitely nothing deeper in the background [..] The only deep convo we’ve had is in 2020, in Austria, when I went to speak to him about BLM & how much it would mean if he supported that,” Hamilton told a reporter.