Lewis Hamilton has fired Max Verstappen’s orange army, telling them it’s “amazing” that they applauded when he crashed at 140 mph during qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix.
That was on Friday evening, when the seven-time world champion lost the back of his Mercedes and first entered the tire barrier on the right. He sat in the cabin for a while before coming out unscathed.
But the joy with which he faced his misfortune was a reminder that he is in enemy territory. About 60,000 orange-clad fans have made the trip so far in cars, campers and caravans from the Netherlands to support Verstappen. The Red Bull Ring is a 12-hour drive from Amsterdam, but the distance has barely deterred the staunchest among the 105,000 spectators.
Lewis Hamilton was not impressed by the reaction of the public to his fall in the standings
They were rewarded for their devotion in seeing their man win Saturday’s sprint and secure pole for Sunday’s race. Hamilton was eighth, but only after grabbing his spare chassis after last night’s crash and after struggling to climb from 11th after a minor collision on the first lap.
Speaking for the first time about the biggest impact, Hamilton said, “I didn’t feel like they were cheering at the time of the accident. I was going through a lot of things, but then I heard them and I don’t agree with nothing, whatever happens.
“A driver could have been in the hospital, and you encourage him? It’s amazing that people do it, knowing how dangerous our sport is.
Hamilton lost control of his Mercedes on turn 7 and finished Friday at the barriers
“I was grateful not to have ended up in the hospital and not to have been seriously injured. You should never have encouraged someone to fall or someone to be injured. You shouldn’t have gone to Silverstone and you shouldn’t have having passed here.
Hamilton was referring to last weekend’s British Grand Prix, where Verstappen was booed after pole. Now the clog is on the other foot.
As for the sprint, it was a decent affair. Some stickers denounce the format, but passing the classification on Friday encourages that day, with the sprint an advantage that enriches Saturday. You can also mix the grand prize grid, all for merit and not for reverse grid tricks. What is not to like? Formula 1 should seriously consider doing a sprint in each round, perhaps with some tweaks, such as going over a third of the length of the Grand Prix at half distance and / or introducing a stop.
Qualification was delayed because Hamilton’s damaged Mercedes machine was towed
Anyway, Verstappen won quite comfortably from the front once he held on to the initial load of the Ferrari Carlos Sainz. The eight points he scored extended his lead over his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez at 38 and over Charles Leclerc at the other red car at 44.
Perez, by the way, drove magnificently. He was blunt but was measured from 13th to fifth, three places behind Leclerc and one behind George Russell of Mercedes. As for Ferrari, what the hell are they doing?
On Saturday, there were furry moments when his two men clashed duel and, as at Silverstone, you wonder why they’re not throwing it all behind Leclerc, his No. 1, who started second compared to third. de Sainz.
About 60,000 fans dressed in orange have traveled from the Netherlands to support Max Verstappen
Now comes the incident of Hamilton’s first lap in the sprint. Between Alex Albon of Williams and Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri, he cut the latter. ‘I have a little skating. I was attacked by the cars around me. Pierre approached me and had nowhere to go.
Hamilton continued, passing Albon and his former teammate Val-tteri Bottas of the Alfa Romeo. He then went wheel to wheel with Haas ’Mick Schumacher back and forth until the Briton finally forced himself just before the end.
“I was very lucky to make the first lap. I’m grateful I finished and got a point.”
Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel received a £ 21,000 suspended fine for abandoning Friday’s drivers ’briefing in a bend attack during a round-trip over the runway limits.
Aston Martin rider, who was thrown into the gravel by Alex Albon during the sprint race, was called to the stables last night.
He had already apologized to race director Niels Wittich.
The commissioners said: “Vettel left the meeting without permission, expressing frustration. Drivers cannot leave whenever they want. At this level they are role models for all drivers in the world. ‘