Four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen pleaded for the FIA stewards to hand Lewis Hamilton a penalty after a close battle during the Austrian Grand Prix.
The former fierce title rivals rolled back the years in the opening stages of the eighth round of the championship on Sunday, with Verstappen risking it all on the 11th lap, making a big lunge into Turn 3 to move up into second.
But the seven-time champion wasn’t prepared to let the Red Bull star take his track position that easily, fighting back around the outside at Turn 4.
Verstappen then attempted to go around the outside at Turn 6, but his battle with the Ferrari star forced him into the gravel as the Brit held onto P2.
The Dutchman was quick to complain of Hamilton’s racecraft, saying over team radio: “That’s a penalty. Clear penalty.”
Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok didn’t agree, saying on the live race commentary: “Anthony Davidson and I can’t stop smiling! This is what great motor racing between two great world champions is all about.
“It was clean, it was on the edge, it was on the limit, but great racing.”
Stewards side with Hamilton after Verstappen complaints
On lap 15 of the 71-lap grand prix, the FIA announced that Hamilton had been noted for forcing another driver off the track at Turn 6.
The stewards later decided Hamilton had done nothing wrong however, with no further action or penalty coming for the Ferrari star.
This left the 41-year-old and his infamous former rival free to race in front of Verstappen’s legions of fans who made the trip to the Styrian mountains despite the European heatwave.
