Red Bull Won’t Be Pleased With Honda F1 Director’s Verdict on Hamilton-Verstappen Clash at British GP

The moment Lewis Hamilton shunted Max Verstappen’s car into the wall at Silverstone, there was a wave of resentment amongst the F1 fandom, with several blaming the 7-time world champion for the life-threatening crash. Of course, one of them was Red Bull F1 boss, Christian Horner.

The Briton was animated in the pit lane after the red flags showed up, and also had a radio conversation with the race director, Michael Masi. Meanwhile, there was Red Bull’s advisor, Dr. Helmut Marko, who went the extra mile to demand a one-race ban for Hamilton.

However, Honda’s managing director, Masashi Yamamoto, had a different perspective on the incident. The Japanese felt that it was more of a racing incident, as both the drivers shared equal blames.

Yamamoto’s comments that could leave Red Bull red-faced

Speaking to Auto Sport Web, the Honda MD, unlike his Red Bull colleagues, decided not to take shots at the Mercedes driver.

“In the end, I think it’s a racing accident. Because we’re running in different places. But, the opponent is a person who has won the championship seven times,” he said.

Formula One F1 – British Grand Prix – Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, Britain – July 18, 2021 Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton celebrates after winning the race REUTERS/Andrew Couldridge

Hamilton was almost alongside Verstappen before approaching turn 9. And Hamilton was aware that if he loses Verstappen then, he loses Verstappen forever.

Hence, the Briton did not let his foot off the throttle. Ultimately, with both drivers not giving up, the end result was uglier than anyone could ever imagine.

Glad Max Verstappen didn’t have a big injury: Honda F1 managing director

Yamamoto reckoned it was a weekend of disappointments for Red Bull at Silverstone, and the only positive news was that Verstappen was safe after the hefty crash.

“Overall, it was a very tired race. I’m glad Max didn’t have a big injury. But, I can only say that it was a very disappointing race,” he said.

Formula One F1 – British Grand Prix – Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, Britain – July 17, 2021 Red Bull’s Max Verstappen celebrates after winning sprint qualifying Pool via REUTERS/Lars Baron

Of course, Verstappen ended his race as early as lap 1, and the focus consequently shifted to his teammate, Sergio Perez. The Mexican made a decent recovery from the sprint race spin and almost caught up with the mid-field pack.

However, Perez was stuck in a train and never found a way out of it. Hence, with anything beyond P9 looking impossible, Red Bull opted to pit Perez for a fresh set of tires in a bid to deny Hamilton the fastest lap point.

So, with such a terrible race in the backdrop, can Red Bull make a sound comeback at Hungaroring next weekend? We’ll know soon enough.

Watch Story: Lewis Hamilton: Ranking His F1 World Titles From 2008 to 2020

The post Red Bull Won’t Be Pleased With Honda F1 Director’s Verdict on Hamilton-Verstappen Clash at British GP appeared first on EssentiallySports.