Lewis Hamilton has accused Max Verstappen of not behaving like a world champion after the Dutchman told his critics to “turn the volume down” if they don’t like his language. Verstappen, who is set to be penalised 10 grid places at Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix for exceeding the permitted limits of engine parts, has come under fire after setting the airwaves green with envy in Hungary last weekend.
He had numerous radio exchanges with his British-Italian race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase and called Red Bull’s strategy “shit”. Verstappen, who collided with Hamilton in the dying moments, finished fifth. Speaking at Spa-Francorchamps ahead of the final round of the season before the four-week summer break, Hamilton was asked about his rival’s behaviour.
“As a team leader or as a team member, you have to act like a world champion,” Hamilton said. Asked what acting like a world champion means, Hamilton replied: “It wasn’t like last weekend.”
Verstappen: “Turn down the volume if you don’t like it”
Verstappen, for his part, said he would not change his approach. “People who don’t like my language don’t listen to me,” he said. “Turn the volume down. I’m very motivated by success.”
“People may say I’m maybe not as vocal on the radio, but that’s their opinion and I think it should have been said at the time. We’re very open-minded and very critical of each other as a team and that’s worked well, so I don’t expect that to change.
“It was clear that the strategy was wrong. I am very motivated and I want to be perfect. If things don’t go as they should, it is completely normal to show frustration.
“As a team, we learn from these mistakes and move forward. It’s important that we are able to be critical. In this world, people can’t take criticism like they used to and I don’t want to end up like that.”
Verstappen: “Simracing until 3am is nothing new”
Verstappen, 26, looked on course to win his fourth consecutive title after winning seven of the first ten rounds.
But he has not won in his last three appearances – the first time in two-and-a-half years – while McLaren have dominated at the Hungaroring.
Lando Norris is 76 points behind Verstappen with 11 races remaining. Verstappen was up past 3am on Sunday morning during the race as he took part in a sim racing event in his camper van at the circuit. 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg called Verstappen’s extracurricular activity “disappointing”, while Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko suggested the team wanted to draw a line under its star driver’s sim racing career.
But Verstappen added: “I’ve raced until 3am and that’s not something new in my life. If you don’t win the race it could be because you’re up until 3am or you’re a kilo overweight, but in Imola I won both. [the grand prix and a sim race].
“I’ve been doing this since 2015. I’ve won three world championships, so I know what I can and can’t do and I know myself what’s allowed and what’s not.
“We talked about it and I told them, ‘You don’t have to worry.’ I don’t need to tell them what to do in their free time on the weekends, and neither do I.”
Norris: “There are things I’m not very proud of”
Norris admitted he was “not too proud” of casting a shadow over Oscar Piastri’s maiden Formula 1 victory. Piastri claimed his first triumph in just his second season in Hungary last weekend as McLaren secured their first one-two finish in almost three years.
But the result was overshadowed by a radio altercation between Norris and his race engineer, Will Joseph, during which the Englishman admitted he considered defying an order to let Piastri past. Pole-sitter Norris, 24, lost the lead to Piastri at the start but regained top spot after being called in for his final tyre change two laps before his team-mate.
Norris said: “Could it have been handled differently, both from a team perspective and from a personal perspective? Yes, absolutely.
“People outside will make up their own stories about what happened, what I may or may not have done, and I don’t mind that.
“But there are things I could have done and the fact that I ruined Oscar’s first Formula 1 victory is something I’m not very proud of.
“We did a one-two and there were hardly any headlines about it after the race. Those were the moments when I felt the worst.”
Joseph asked Norris to let Piastri, 23, pass “at his convenience” after his teammate stopped on lap 47 of 70. However, Norris only pulled away with three laps to go.
“I should have let him go straight away,” Norris said. “It’s so stupid not to because we were free to run and I could have tried to pass him and win the race. It seems so simple now, but it wasn’t something that crossed my mind at the time.”
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