Max Verstappen sends clear message to rival Lewis Hamilton in opening practice session in Hungary as Red Bull star nips in front of Mercedes man in the pits before going fastest in the wake of bitter row over Silverstone crash
- Max Verstappen sent a clear message to Lewis Hamilton in FP1 in Hungary
- The pair collided at Silverstone and a bitter row erupted in the aftermath
- Hamilton and Verstappen almost made contact when emerging from the pits
- The Red Bull star let his speed do the talking as he topped opening practice
Max Verstappen sent a clear message to Lewis Hamilton as the Red Bull star topped first practice ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix on Friday morning.
The Dutchman returned to the track for the first time following his dramatic crash at the British Grand Prix this month, in which his Red Bull collided with Hamilton’s Mercedes on the opening lap.
Verstappen fumed at Hamilton’s ‘disrespectful’ celebrations following the Briton’s win on home turf, and doubled down on his claims during a tense press conference on Thursday.
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton almost collided again in Hungary’s opening practice
And the Red Bull driver made his presence known on Friday as the rivals emerged from the pits at the same time during the first practice session.
Hamilton had emerged from the pit first, before Verstappen came out of his garage moments later. The seven-time world champion came to a halt to avoid a collision with his championship rival.
The 23-year-old let his speed do the talking on Friday, topping the timesheets in the opening practice session at the Hungaroring track near Budapest.
The Red Bull man returned to the track for the first time since crashing at the British Grand Prix
The 23-year-old let his speed do the talking as he clocked in faster than his rival Hamilton
Verstappen clocked the fastest lap with a time of 1:17.555, with Valtteri Bottas crossing the line 0.061sec slower than the Red Bull man. Hamilton was 0.167sec slower than the Dutchman.
Verstappen doubled down on his claims that Hamilton and Mercedes were ‘disrespectful’ for celebrating their win at Silverstone during a tense press conference on Thursday.
‘It is the whole reaction of the team,’ said Verstappen, speaking before the Hungarian Grand Prix.
‘That is not how you celebrate a win, especially a win in the way that they got it. That is what I found disrespectful and it shows how they really are. It comes out in a pressure situation but I wouldn’t want to be seen like that. I would have been upset with myself over a that move and I definitely could not celebrate.’
Mercedes will be buoyed by the speed they showed in the opening practice session in Hungary
But Hamilton insisted he tried to reach Verstappen in hospital after hearing of his anger – only to be rebuffed.
He said: ‘I did give Max a call after the race to check he was OK and let him know the respect was still there. It doesn’t look as though that has been reciprocated, but that’s OK.
‘I don’t believe our behaviour was disrespectful. It is one thing knowing and celebrating what happened and it is another thing not knowing and celebrating.’