“If it was anyone except Max Verstappen, then Lewis Hamilton would not have tried the pass,” claims IndyCar driver

“If it was anyone except Max Verstappen, then Lewis Hamilton would not have tried the pass,” claims IndyCar driver

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen

The Championship battle took another turn, as Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen clashed during the opening lap of the British GP on Sunday. The duo were going side by side, before they came together at the Copse Corner.

Max Verstappen went sliding into the gravel, which ended his race in agony. On the other hand, Lewis Hamilton went on the win the race, despite serving a 10-second penalty. IndyCar driver, Alex Palou believes that Lewis Hamilton would not have attempted the pass, if it was not for Verstappen.

“For sure, when you say that Hamilton went on that aggressive move, having only a little bit of space, for sure it was because it was Verstappen – if it was another guy, that wouldn’t have happened – just because [they] are fighting for the championship,” said Palou.

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“I expect things like that to happen. What would I do if that were to happen? I don’t know. For sure [if I was Verstappen] I wouldn’t take it easy on Hamilton. But if I was Hamilton, I would have gone for it. In my opinion, they both did what I would do in their places,” he added.

You cannot just let somebody pass in racing: Alex Palou

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Alex Palou believes that Max Verstappen was correct on his part, as he stood his ground against Lewis Hamilton. Palou stated that one cannot let anybody just pass in racing, and that the incident was an unfortunate one.

“Maybe obviously now that you see the consequences, if you are Verstappen, you say, ‘OK, let him pass’. But you cannot just let somebody pass in racing!,” Palou said.

Palou, who leads the IndyCar standings, believes that Sunday’s battle in Formula, was just a normal day in IndyCar racing.

“I think in IndyCar it’s always like that! In Mid-Ohio, every race, we touch with other guys. All the overtakes are on the limit… The racing in IndyCar is like that. I think it’s the beauty of the championship as well and these cars allow you to have some contact,” said Palou.

“Do I expect some drivers to be more aggressive on me? I don’t think so. Maybe the guys we are fighting more, like let’s say Pato [O’Ward], Josef [Newgarden], and [teammates] Scott [Dixon], Marcus [Ericsson]… Man, I think everybody fights super hard with each other here in IndyCar,” he added.

Also Read: Neither Lewis Hamilton nor Max Verstappen is the best driver in 2021: Emerson Fittipaldi