The rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen escalated further as the two contenders for the Formula 1 racing supremacy were involved in a nasty crash at the Italian Grand Prix last week. The Red Bull driver’s car took off and landed on the Halo of Hamiton’s Mercedes, when the pair clashed wheels at turns one and two. This was the second collision of the season between the two drivers, Hamilton and Verstappen had collided at the British Grand Prix in July. Both were able to continue after the collision at Silverstone, however, the incident at Monza knocked them out of the race.
In the immediate aftermath of the crash Verstappen walked away seemingly unhurt, while Hamilton took several minutes to step out of his cockpit. Luckily, the seven-time World Champion was left with minor injuries to his neck but admitted soreness in his neck and was also seen sporting a medical tape after the crash.
Now, former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher has said that Lewis Hamilton “over dramatised” his crash with Max Verstappen at Monza. In an interview with SPORT1, Schumacher said he was pleased to see F1’s safety measures in protecting Hamilton’s head and described the incident as a “racing accident”. However, the former Williams driver believes that Hamilton has exaggerated the seriousness of the crash and even pointed out that the Mercedes driver was able to attend the Met Gala in New York the next day after the crash.
“I think Lewis was over-dramatising it and he flew to New York the following day to attend an event,” Schumacher said. He also called Hamilton a “colourful character” who dares and gives a lot to Formula 1.
Meanwhile, Red Bull’s medical advisor Helmut Marko too believes that Hamilton along with his Mercedes Team “put on a show” after the incident at Monza. “It was a normal accident and the stories around it were hyped-up by Mercedes,” he told the Osterreich newspaper.
“Verstappen had already got out when Hamilton tried to go back,” he said, adding that the medical car saw that and drove on and that’s when a “show” was put on.
Nevertheless, F1 mandarins and Mercedes’ team heaved a sigh of relief as their star driver was showing no signs of his injury. Hamilton claimed he jetted off to New York as he needed specialist treatment after the Monza incident.
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