Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton rekindled their fierce rivalry in Austria, clashing wheel-to-wheel before sharing a smile and handshake after the chequered flag.
But when all was said and done, the 2021 title protagonists were quick to shake on it and congratulate one another in a moment captured by Canal+.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen clash over Austrian GP battle
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In a throwback to the 2021 championship, Hamilton and Verstappen raced wheel-to-wheel at the Austrian Grand Prix on a day where Hamilton lined up on the grid ahead of Verstappen, but it was the Red Bull driver who had better race pace.
Closing in on Hamilton, Verstappen made his move on Lap 11 into Turn 3. But Hamilton came back at him with the two side-by-side through the sweeps. Verstappen tried to pass around the outside, but with wheels in the gravel, gave up the fight.
Verstappen wasn’t impressed with Hamilton forcing him wide and told Red Bull, “Clear penalty!”
Hamilton, later told of Verstappen’s gripe, had no sympathy for the 28-year-old’s complaint.
“He went off the outside. You don’t expect to go around the outside of a champion,” the Ferrari driver told PlanetF1.com and other media.
“I wouldn’t expect to go around the outside of him there and hold the line.
“So he was behind at the apex, and therefore he should have backed out.”
The two were back at it later in the race after the first round of pit stops where, this time, Verstappen got the better of Hamilton. He finished the race in second, with Hamilton P5 at the chequered flag.
But while neither driver gave an inch on the track, off it, it was all smiles off of it.
Hamilton and Verstappen were in the media pen at the same time after Sunday’s Grand Prix, with Hamilton turning to Verstappen, “Good race, man.”
Shaking hands, Verstappen replied with a smile: “Yeah!”
Hamilton: “Good job, mate.”
With Ferrari and Red Bull’s pace converging in Austria, Sunday’s battle may not be the last time Formula 1 fans witness the two world champions fighting it out on track this season.
Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer appreciated Verstappen’s second battle against Hamilton where the Red Bull driver committed to the inside and aggressively claimed the corner.
Palmer told F1TV: “It’s brilliant racing from him. I love the aggression that he’s throwing, inside or outside. He knows that he needs to clear this Ferrari.
“Hamilton, as he did earlier on, using a little more energy deployment down to Four, but Max just catching him unawares. It’s not an easy place to throw a lunge, late on the brakes at six.
“But he sent it in, ran off line. That doesn’t matter, the move was done on the entry. It was a great pass.”
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Originally published by Planet F1 —
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