Max Verstappen’s audacious overtake on Lewis Hamilton at the Hungarian Grand Prix drew a lot of attention from fans.
At the time, it looked as though the four-time champion may have unfairly pushed the Ferrari driver off the track.
That was until Hamilton denied that there was anything wrong with his rivals’ move in front of the stewards after the race.
Verstappen only finished ninth, so he didn’t have much to lose by receiving a penalty, but it all parties felt that a fair decision had been reached.
Red Bull’s ‘wrong’ simulator setup caused Verstappen’s woes and left him competing in the midfield at the Hungarian Grand Prix in unusual fashion.
During the race, F1 fans called Verstappen’s decision ‘ridiculous’ and didn’t feel as though his move had been very clean at the time.
Photo by Clive Rose/Getty ImagesMax Verstappen may have made Lewis Hamilton realise he’s ‘lost’ his defensive skills at Ferrari
Verstappen’s overtake came at an unusual part of the track. It’s not easy to force a car wide at the high-speed turn four.
Ferrari will be concerned with what Hamilton did after sitting motionless in his car after the race in Budapest. He looked pretty downbeat at his result.
But his weak defence of an ex-championship rival may have been what really had him questioning his actions post-race.
Jeroen Bleekemolen believes that the Briton may have ‘lost’ something since joining Ferrari, and the way he gave up to Verstappen so easily might suggest it could be his defensive skills.
“I do miss his fire, though. If he then also takes action after the race, Max, what are you talking about [he said]? What happened? Then he pretends he doesn’t know anymore [on Verstappen’s overtake],” he said.
“I mean if you’re a racing driver and you’re overtaken in that way, you really know that. It does seem like he’s really lost it a little bit.”
Martin Brundle makes ‘painful’ Lewis Hamilton Ferrari future prediction
Just 14 races into his Ferrari career, and some are already wondering when Hamilton is going to draw the curtain on his time in Formula 1.
Martin Brundle made a ‘painful’ Hamilton future prediction and believes that he won’t be with the Scuderia beyond the end of 2026.
Fortunately, the summer break has arrived at a very handy time for the seven-time champion, who can relax a bit and get to the bottom of what he is struggling with most.
Hamilton needs a ‘radical’ change over the summer and must come back ‘hyper-focused’ on being a racing driver. Otherwise, things could come to a rather damp end.