Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner was furious at Lewis Hamilton following the Silverstone Grand Prix after the seven-time World Champion took out Max Verstappen in the first lap of the race.
Horner called Hamilton’s move unacceptable and stated that a racer of the Brit’s caliber shouldn’t make such dangerous moves.
“He’s (Hamilton) a world champion, he shouldn’t be making maneuvers like that. It’s unacceptable. I hope Lewis is very happy with himself … I’m just very disappointed that a driver of his caliber should make such a move. It’s dangerous. It looked desperate. And he’s put a competitor, thankfully uninjured, in hospital. For me, that’s a hollow victory,” said Horner about Hamilton following the race.
Hamilton and Verstappen tangled with each other in the Copse corner at Silverstone when the former tried to dive in through the inside of the Dutchman. Hamilton and Verstappen collided which sent Verstappen to the barriers, with the Red Bull driver’s crash rated at a force of 51G.
Verstappen was not pleased with Hamilton’s celebrations following the race while he was in the hospital.
“Glad I’m ok. Very disappointed with being taken out like this. The penalty given does not help us and doesn’t do justice to the dangerous move Lewis made on the track. Watching the celebrations while still in hospital is disrespectful and unsportsmanlike behavior but we move on,” said Verstappen on social media.
The race was red-flagged after the incident and the British driver was given a 10-second stop-go penalty as the stewards deemed him to be in the wrong in that collision. Despite the penalty, Hamilton stormed his way back to the top of the pack, overtaking Ferrari’s Charles Le Clerc in the 50th lap, and won his home Grand Prix for the seventh time.
The win for Hamilton also helped him close the gap with Verstappen to just 8 points with 13 races to go in the season. The Constructors’ Championship is even closer than four points separate the top two, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes.
Lewis Hamilton is gunning for his eighth Drivers title, which would put him at the top list for most Drivers’ Championships. Hamilton has won four back-to-back titles, while his team could win their eight Constructors’ title on the trot.
Verstappen, meanwhile, has yet to win a world title, but this could very well be his year following strong performances so far in the championship.
