The Hamilton/Vettel battle continues off the track

Until now, we had a cordial understanding between Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton, who find themselves in direct confrontation for the world champion title for the first time. In Spain, we had a first intense but correct duel between the two men, to the advantage of the Briton.

But things took a completely different turn in Baku. The reason: the clash between the two drivers when the safety car was about to withdraw again. Lewis Hamilton then appeared very slow, and Sebastian Vettel was unable to avoid the collision. As a sign of protest, the Ferrari driver pulled alongside his rival, and the two men collided.

The race stewards then decided that the Ferrari driver had performed a dangerous maneuver and sentenced him to a ten-second penalty.

Obviously, Sebastian Vettel believed he was in the right and that both drivers should have received a penalty since two mistakes were made: « Regarding what happened during the restart behind the safety car, I don’t know why I was penalized and not Lewis. It’s disappointing because we could have had a better result. I have no problem with Lewis but I think what he did on track wasn’t correct. Now the decision has been made but, in an episode like this, I still think that if you give a penalty to one, the other should also be penalized. »

Unsurprisingly, the reaction is entirely different in the other camp, and Lewis Hamilton does not hesitate to call on future champions of the discipline to defend his cause: “I clearly didn’t brake on purpose on Sebastian. I was controlling my pace under the safety car. Like at every restart, I slowed down at the same place, at the entrance of turn 15. At that moment, it’s up to me to dictate the pace, and then I felt a bump at the back. That wasn’t the issue for me: everyone clearly saw what happened behind. All the kids are watching us, as champions, to set an example, and that wasn’t a behavior you expect from a multiple world champion. If he wants to prove he’s a man, he should do it off the track. Driving like that is dangerous.”

The war is thus now declared and the battle on and off the track should be epic until the end of the season.