Hamilton tells Verstappen how ‘to act like a world champion’ after Hungary meltdown
Max Verstappen endured a nightmare weekend at the Hungarian Grand Prix last weekend, and displayed behaviour that was not suited to a world champion, according to Lewis Hamilton.
The Red Bull driver became disgruntled with the strategy he was placed on during the race weekend and voiced his frustrations over the team radio on numerous occasions.
Verstappen made contact with Hamilton as they battled for position late on in the grand prix, , causing the three-time champion to drop to fifth place.
After the race, Verstappen also told those who criticised his public condemnation of Red Bull’s strategy during the race to “fuck off.”
Red Bull has come under increased pressure at recent races from McLaren, while Mercedes has also found the pace to pose a challenge.
When asked by media including RacingNews365 how Verstappen should tackle the season with increased pressure on Red Bull’s shoulders, Hamilton replied: “You have to be a team leader, a team member.
“Maybe not such a leader, but just always remember you are a team-mate to a lot of people. You have to act like a world champion.“
When pushed on what acting like a world champion entails, Hamilton stated: “Not like it was last weekend.”
Hamilton ‘surprised’ by stewards ruling after Verstappen clash
Hamilton bagged his third podium of the season last time out in Hungary after emerging from the contact with Verstappen relatively unscathed.
Verstappen avoided a penalty for the incident as the stewards highlighted in their decision that Hamilton could have done more to avoid the incident – a note that shocked the seven-time world champion.
“Yes, very much so. I was really, really surprised by it,” he said. “Already I was very relaxed about the situation, I said ‘look, it’s just a racing incident, let’s just move on’.
“But considering one car was in control and one car was not in control at the time, obviously when the wheels are locked you are not in control.
“If you look at the replay, I’m very far from the apex so I’ve left a lot of room on the right-hand side.
“I was very surprised, I don’t know who typed it up, but that will be a question when I speak to them at some stage.”
