After Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen collided at the Hungarian Grand Prix, race officials decided not to take any further action.
Verstappen attempted to overtake Hamilton on the inside at Turn 1, but locked up as the pair approached the corner, their left rear end hitting Hamilton’s right front. The Red Bull went airborne on contact and Verstappen felt Hamilton had moved under braking, but the stewards disagreed, despite noting the Mercedes driver’s intervention.
Verstappen 💥 Hamilton
A huge hit that blew up Red Bull and ended up finishing P3 competition 🥉#F1 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/I7K2Nu5sgG
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 21, 2024
“Car 1 approached the turn earlier than on the previous lap (due to the DRS) and braked at the same point as before.” The umpire’s decision read: “The driver of Car 1 asserted that Car 44 was braking and swerving. The driver of Car 44 stated that he was simply following his normal racing line (this was confirmed by reviewing video and telemetry evidence from the previous lap).
“Car 1 had both front wheels locked as it approached Turn 1 before the impact, but it was clear it had missed its normal cornering line required for a normal overtaking manoeuvre.
“The driver of vehicle 44 stated that the accident was a racing accident, while the driver of vehicle 1 claimed that the accident was a braking and swerving accident.
“The commissioner does not believe this was a classic ‘brake and swerve’ incident, but believes the driver of vehicle 44 could have done more to avoid the collision.
“Therefore, we have determined that neither driver is primarily responsible and have decided not to take further action.”
Before the decision was made, Hamilton made clear his belief it was not a serious incident, but was unhappy with claims Verstappen had moved while braking.
“I remember we were clearly past the backmarker,” Hamilton said. “I got to the braking zone and Max looked like he was going to pass the car behind me, so I moved to defend. I had plenty of space on the inside, but Max locked up and he was on a different trajectory than me. I was going around the corner and he was going at full speed.
“It was like a racing accident. I think it’s easy to make mistakes like that, so there shouldn’t be any animosity. But of course, from his perspective, it’s always going to be like that.”
