Lewis Hamilton says he has cleared the air with Red Bull's Max Verstappen after the pair clashed at the previous round in Bahrain.
Verstappen launched an overtake down the inside of Hamilton at Turn 1, but cut across the front of the Mercedes and clipped its front-wing, puncturing his own tyre which ultimately forced him to retire from the race.
Hamilton, who saw a replay of the clash on a screen in the pre-podium room, was overheard calling the Dutchman "such a dickhead". His comment was defended by rival Sebastian Vettel when a Dutch journalist picked up on it and even Verstappen brushed it aside.
However Hamilton said he felt he needed to address the problem face-to-face with Verstappen and did so when the pair bumped into each other during an autographg session ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend.
![Isack Hadjar [pictured] has deferred to Max Verstappen for Day 2 of the F1 pre-season test. Image: Red Bull Content Pool](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Isack-Hadjar-Red-Bull-test-2026-120x86.webp)
"I generally do my talking on the track but after this incident I didn't," he is quoted as saying by Autosport.
"I just saw Max just now, and I said to him, I think it's always good to show respect, and regardless of whether I'm the older driver, more importantly being that I'm the older driver, I felt it was important that I went [and spoke] to him.
"So just as we were signing now I just shook his hand and said, 'I'm sorry about the last race, regardless of whether it was his fault or my fault, it doesn't really matter, it's in the past.'"
Hamilton said it was important for drivers to respect one another: "Hopefully that sign of respect shows a lot, and helps you kind of turn the pace and move forwards racing each other and hopefully keeps respect between you, because I think that's important between drivers."
Hamilton suggested he would now be more careful in the cool-down room from now on.
"I think I've been pretty good in all these years, I think that's the first time I forgot the cameras were kind of there! You'll have less to write about, for sure."
![Isack Hadjar [pictured] has deferred to Max Verstappen for Day 2 of the F1 pre-season test. Image: Red Bull Content Pool](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Isack-Hadjar-Red-Bull-test-2026-350x250.webp)
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