Lewis Hamilton believes Max Verstappen should take some blame for the incident with Esteban Ocon during the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver watched from behind as the Red Bull and Force India collided at Turn 2, allowing him back into the lead he had lost to the Dutchman a few laps earlier.
While the stewards put the maximum blame on Ocon with a 10-second stop/go penalty and three points on his licence, Hamilton doesn’t Max did himself many favours.
“I saw it happen, it wasn’t something that… I wasn’t surprised by it,” the eventual race winner said.
“I saw them racing but they were not racing for the same position. I would have been in a different frame of mind.
“Fortunately he was able to keep going, no-one got hurt and it was a racing incident I guess.
“Max is that go-getter guy and every now and again it bites you but I am really, really proud [to win], I don’t care about anybody else.”
Hamilton had already given his opinion to Verstappen, who confronted Ocon in parc ferme, about the incident, telling the 21-year-old Esteban “is allowed to unlap himself”.
When Max replied “but you can’t crash”, Lewis then pointed out: “You had more to lose than he did. He had nothing to lose”.
Despite Ocon being faster than Verstappen at that point of the race, thus resulting in the attempted pass, Red Bull boss Christian Horner went in hard on the young Frenchman.
“You know, the lead car has just lapped a Force India and clearly, you shouldn’t interfere with the lead car as a lapped car,” he said. “What on earth [Esteban] Ocon was thinking about there beggars belief.
“They are quick on the straight, we know that, but why on earth is he racing the leader. He is a lap down, he doesn’t have the pace, you know. He has chucked the car up the inside there, it just makes no sense at all.”
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As for the post-race pushing, which Verstappen has been summoned to the stewards over, Horner thinks Ocon could consider himself lucky.
“I think Max has been pretty restrained to be honest with you. It has cost him a Grand Prix victory,” he said. “He has driven his heart out with a damaged car. Esteban was lucky to get away with a push.
“Emotions are running high. I told him, get yourself under control on the cool-down lap because he has lost a victory through no fault of his own today and it is hugely frustrating for him and the team.
“We had done everything right, we had Mercedes on the ropes, we had passed Ferrari. It is hugely frustrating for everybody to lose a victory for a backmarker.”
