SIR LEWIS HAMILTON phoned Max Verstappen to clear the air after their crash at the British Grand Prix.
The pair collided at a whopping 180mph at the Copse corner in the opening lap of the July race at Silverstone.
Red Bull ace Verstappen was furious with Hamilton, who he branded ‘disrespectful’ and ‘unsportsmanlike’ from his hospital bed.
And in a bid to defuse the situation, seven-time F1 champ Hamilton put in a phone call to his young rival.
He told ESPN: “I called him after Silverstone, but, again, I don’t mean to be patronising, but I am much older.
“I’m much older and it was important for me to call and to be able to break the ice.
“I feel he’s a tremendous talent and I am enjoying racing with him.
“Do I agree with everything he does? It doesn’t even matter.
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“What matters is that he does him and he will learn, and all I can control is what I do and how I handle things.”
Hamilton and Verstappen, 36 and 24 respectively, collided again last month at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.
On lap 26, Verstappen’s Red Bull bounced up on a sausage kerb – with one of its wheels landing on Hamilton’s head.
Hamilton would’ve sustained a serious injury had it not been for the titanium Halo safety device, which have been mandatory since 2018.
Dutchman Verstappen was handed a three-place penalty for the Russian Grand Prix as officials adjudged him to have been responsible for the crash.
Current championship leader Hamilton has become used to Verstappen’s risky manoeuvres.
He said: “I’ve had to back out of certain scenarios with Max because otherwise, we are going to crash, and I’m just like, ‘I’ll beat him in another way.
“I think, ‘If I can just survive this corner, I will challenge and fight him another way, stay close, use strategy and all these different things.”
Hamilton and Verstappen will renew their rivalry on Sunday afternoon in the Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul.
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Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
