Lewis Hamilton took a dig at Max Verstappen, telling him to “act like a world champion” after their collision at last weekend’s Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Seven-time world champion and the Red Bull driver made contact during the closing stages while battling over third place at the Hungaroring.
Hamilton ultimately finished third, while Verstappen ended in fifth place.
“You have to be a team leader, a team member,” the 39-year-old said ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix.
“Maybe not so much a team leader but more so just always remember you are a teammate with lots of people and you have to act like a world champion.”
Ready to take on the challenge of Spa-Francorchamps 💪👏 pic.twitter.com/yzR9tFqgxC
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) July 25, 2024
Both Verstappen and Hamilton escaped punishment for their collision but the stewards determined that the latter could have done more to avoid the collision which left the Mercedes driver surprised.
“I was really, really surprised by it,” he added. “I think already I was very relaxed about the situation. Just saying look, it was just a racing incident, let’s just move on.
“But considering one car was in control and one car was not in control at the time. Obviously when all the wheels are locked you are not in control.
“And if you look at the replay, at the end of the whole move I’m very, very far from the apex, so there’s a lot of room on the right hand side.
“So I was very, very surprised at the stewards. I don’t know who typed it up but probably that’ll be a question when I speak to them at some stage.”
Verstappen leads the F1 drivers’ championship 76 points clear McLaren’s Lando Norris while Hamilton is 140 points behind his 2021 title rival in sixth place.
