Max Verstappen believes he left Lewis Hamilton sufficient room in their clash at the Bahrain Grand Prix, and was surprised that the Briton was not sanctioned.
Verstappen started from 15th on the grid, having crashed out in Q1, but made quick progress and started the second lap challenging Hamilton for ninth position.
Verstappen grabbed the inside line for Turn 1 and the pair ran side-by-side through the exit of the corner, with Hamilton’s front-right brushing the rear-left of Verstappen’s RB14.
Verstappen’s tyre was punctured in the incident and he crawled around to the pit lane for repairs, but the damage sustained to the car proved terminal, and he retired a few laps later.
Stewards deemed that no further action was necessary.
“From the start I was enjoying the feel of the car and finding the gaps and it was shaping up to be an exciting race,” said Verstappen.
“I had a good tow on the straight, the last corner was really good so it allowed me to stay close to Lewis.
“We got a bit squeezed but from the middle to the end of the corner I was ahead, I then felt a nudge from behind and could feel the puncture and therefore knew the race was likely over.
“In my opinion there was plenty of room for the both of us to go around that corner and to say ‘no action taken’ is a bit harsh as I am now out of the race due to that contact on my left rear.
“If it was the other way around I’m sure he would want it looked into.”
Hamilton, who went on to finish third, described the contact as “unnecessary”.
“We collided, he ran me out of road in Turn 1, I felt at the time was just unnecessary to do so,” he said.
“He was past, there was no need to push by, for me it was frustrating as it could have been me out of the race.
“There was not much I could do to avoid me from hitting [him], it was unnecessary, but these things happen, [it was] a racing incident.”
