Max Verstappen was summoned to the stewards following the Hungarian Grand Prix due to an incident with Lewis Hamilton. In a fierce battle, Verstappen dived to the inside at turn 4; Hamilton swerved to the runoff area to avoid contact and lost a lot of time in the process. The FIA ultimately ruled that no further sanctions were necessary. The Dutchman thus retains his final classification and the corresponding two World Championship points.
The incident occurred in lap 29. Although there was no contact between the two rivals, the stewards investigated after the race whether Verstappen had forced Hamilton off the track and thereby gained an advantage. This turned out not to be the case. A noteworthy detail: Hamilton did not appear at the hearing and did not exercise his right to be heard.
‘I couldn’t care less’
The stewards concluded that Verstappen had full control over his RB21 and only went wide because Hamilton had already left the track. Verstappen stated that he could have steered further inside if necessary – a claim supported by telemetry data. Nevertheless, the Dutchman previously told Viaplay that he was not overly concerned about a possible penalty.
“I don’t understand why I have to go to the stewards,” he responded visibly irritated. “I just put my nose next to his car, he got scared and went wide. I really couldn’t care less if I get a penalty for that. Whether I finish ninth or score zero points – I don’t care at all. I’m mainly looking forward to vacation.” Hamilton, for his part, shrugged off the incident: “I was just trying to avoid a collision,” he said nonchalantly. “To be honest, I can’t really remember it.”
