Lewis Hamilton breaks silence on Max Verstappen and Lando Norris’ Austrian GP clash

Lewis Hamilton didn't want any part of Lando Norris and Max Verstappen's collision at the Austrian GP.

Lewis Hamilton breaks silence on Max Verstappen and Lando Norris’ Austrian GP clash

Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, and Max Verstappen (images via IMAGO)

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen‘s crash at the Austrian GP was viewed from multiple angles. A majority of the people termed the crash as just a racing incident and didn’t think much of it. However, McLaren’s team principal Andrea Stella had linked this crash to the result of the unpunished penalties of Verstappen’s rivalry with Lewis Hamilton back in 2021. Upon this, Hamilton has refused to accept any sort of correlation between the two.

McLaren reckoned that they didn’t want a repeat of the 2021 rivalry between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton to occur with Lando Norris after the collision at the Austrian GP. Mercedes refused these claims from the Woking’s team principal and called it completely different. Apart from this, Hamilton shared his point of view regarding the tiff between the two drivers.

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Lewis Hamilton showcased his calm attitude on the incident and noted that he had nothing to do with the collision. Additionally, the seven-time world champion recalled that Norris and Verstappen had raced together for many years. Hence, both were aware of each other’s driving style and could’ve avoided the incident.

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I don’t think I need to, they’ve raced each other for many years so. It’s got nothing to do with me.
Lewis Hamilton said during a media day interview.

Lewis Hamilton claims he was ‘more concerned’ with Mercedes’ performance at the Austrian GP

Mercedes had already started to showcase great improvement in pace and performance as compared to the start of the season. Brackley had great hopes of scoring well before coming into the first triple-header of the 2024 season. Hence, after the collision with the race leader, Norris and Verstappen both fell down the pecking order.

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton (via IMAGO)

This enabled George Russell to take the quick lead and go on to win the Austrian GP after almost two years of victory draught. Hence, Hamilton reckoned that he didn’t think anything of the crash. The Briton was more concerned with his race and the team’s performance. Moreover, the 39-year-old was enjoying his team’s win after such a long break.

Nothing really. I didn’t think anything of it. I was more concerned about my race and enjoying the team’s win.
Lewis Hamilton added.

Mercedes’ positive-looking performance could enable them to take some control over their position in the championship standings. The German carmaker has lost the majority of the points after sustaining a disappointing start to the season. Hence, Brackley has a lot of stuff to catch up on in terms of developing the challenger for the season.

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