Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were involved in a heated exchange on track and over the team radio during the Italian Grand Prix FP3 on Saturday. The pair got in each other’s way in the final stages of the session, and neither could complete a final flying lap.
Verstappen was preparing to start a final flying lap in FP3, but as he was about to reach Parabolica (Turn 11), Hamilton arrived in his Ferrari SF-26 and overtook him on the inside to get ahead of Verstappen and start his own flying lap. Verstappen was left less than pleased with this, as he then drove next to Hamilton on the main straight and gave him a sarcastic thumbs up.
After this, neither driver yielded, and as Hamilton just got in front before the Rettifilo chicane (Turn 1), Verstappen repaid the favour and dive-bombed on the inside, ruining Hamilton’s lap, who had to back out, as the Red Bull driver still made the corner. Following the incident, Verstappen came over the team radio and said:
“Yeah, he [Hamilton] caused that.”
While Hamilton also complained to his race engineer, saying:
“I got blocked by Max.”
The incident between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton was then noted by the FIA but led to no investigation. Both drivers finished the final practice session of the weekend inside the top three.
While Verstappen was third and three tenths behind the quickest driver, George Russell, Hamilton finished in P2, only a little over two tenths behind his former teammate. The top six in the session, which also included Kimi Antonelli (P4), Lando Norris (P5) and Charles Leclerc (P6), were separated by less than half a second going into qualifying later on Saturday.
Notably, Antonelli has a grid penalty for Sunday’s Italian GP, which will see him start from the back of the grid.
Max Verstappen makes hilarious comment about his Red Bull RB22 during the Italian GP FP3
Max Verstappen made a hilarious comment about his Red Bull RB22 during the Italian GP FP3, saying that he seems to have less power in his car than a Fiat Punto. The Dutchman showcased his frustrations with the car in the final stages of the last practice session ahead of qualifying.
As he was about to start his final run in FP3, Verstappen came over the team radio and told his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase:
“Mate, I have less power than a Fiat Punto!”
Verstappen was complaining about a lack of power and straight-line speed compared to the other drivers around him in the session. But the four-time world champion had a much better outing in FP3 as he finished third, compared to his P9 finish in FP2 on Friday.
Edited by Samyak Sharma