Former Formula One driver Damon Hill believes the crash between Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen shows a “lack of self-control” after the two tangled for a second time this season at the Italian Grand Prix. Hamilton and Verstappen had been involved in many near misses before the British Grand Prix, where tensions boiled over and the pair collided dramatically on the first lap of the race.
Verstappen was sent to hospital for checks after the 51G crash, with Hamilton handed a ten-second time penalty for causing a collision.
The title protagonists then had another coming together at the Italian Grand Prix, as the two banged wheels at the famous chicane at Turn 1, with Verstappen bumping over the sausage kerbs and collecting Hamilton.
The Red Bull was propelled into the air and landed awkwardly on top of Hamilton’s Mercedes, with the right-rear tyre hitting the seven-time world champions head.
Yet, despite the incidents adding to the drama this season, Hill believes we’re teetering on something a lot darker this season.
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“Maybe he knew that if Lewis got ahead, he was done for.
“The consequences are quite dire, and very luckily, Lewis is unhurt. I’ve seen a picture of his head being squashed by the tyre, and had Max dropped the clutch then with his head attached to the tyre that could have been extremely nasty.
“But that’s something that’s beyond Max’s control.”
Hamilton admitted after he had a “sore neck” thanks to the incident, and would be seeing a specialist ahead of the Russian Grand Prix just for further checks.
The seven-time world champion flew straight out to New York on Sunday to attend the Met Gala, in which he showcased emerging Black designers but added he would be getting checked before Sochi.
“His rear wheel landed on my head,” he said.
“I think the rear wheel landed on it, the Halo, and I think the most cambered part of the inside of the tyre landed on my head.
“I think I’m just going to be travelling these next days, but I probably will need to get to see a specialist just to make sure I’m good for the next race because it’s getting tighter and tighter. But I’ll live.”