It was a good thing that Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were interviewed separately. Even in the air-conditioned press conference room in the Budapest embers it became clear: just two weeks after the Silverstone crash, the World Cup duel remains charged. Neither of them wanted to talk much about the details of a joint phone call. Hamilton stressed, however, that he would do the maneuver again. And Verstappen reiterated the criticism of the celebration of the Silver Arrows, while he himself had been checked by doctors: "I found that disrespectful, and it shows who you really are." He does not want to be perceived that way.
Before the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday (3 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker on Formula 1 and on Sky), Verstappen shot a few poison arrows in the direction of Mercedes and Hamilton, the anger was clear to the 23-year-old even behind the dark blue mouth and nose protection to watch. Disrespectful, repeated Verstappen, be it "when one is in the hospital and the other waves the flag as if nothing had happened after he pushed you into the wall with 51g (centrifugal force, editor's note)".
Meanwhile, Hamilton showed little remorse, "those were my natural emotions," which he would not hide. After the race, he called Verstappen to see if he was okay. "I wanted to let him know that the respect is still there," said Hamilton. "That may not be mutual, but that's okay." It is one thing to know and celebrate and not to know and to celebrate, Hamilton tried to explain. At the time, he did not know that Verstappen was in the hospital. But it was also his home race and a “monumental moment” for the Mercedes team. The Briton didn't sound upset or excited. In almost a decade and a half in the motorsport premier class, the now 36-year-old has experienced almost everythingThe fierce public criticism from the Red Bull camp cannot disturb him either.
Rosberg reminds the rivalry of Senna against Schumacher
In terms of sport, the first big bang in the World Cup duel left clear traces.
Former world champion Nico Rosberg, a long-time teammate and the last real competitor for Hamilton in 2016, sees a "battle of the generations".
The rivalry reminded him of "Senna against Schumacher, Schumacher against Alonso, Alonso against Vettel," said the German on Sky Sports.
"And we'll see more of it, I'm sure."
Verstappen's lead over Hamilton melted down to a meager eight points. With the race on the Hungaroring, the last before the four-week Formula 1 summer break, Verstappen wants to quickly get back on the road to success. The Red Bull driver trained “harder than ever” after the accident, as he said. He even took part in a 24-hour race, sitting in front of the screen for almost nine hours with bruises. Meanwhile, his team protested and even asked the FIA to ban Hamilton. Most of the pilots interviewed at the Hungaroring, however, rated the crash as a racing accident.
When asked whether Hamilton was driving dirty against him, Verstappen then replied somewhat evasively: "He just misjudged it in the curve." He did not want to comment on the rest.
He doesn't drive aggressively either, just hard.
"Otherwise I would have pressed it into the wall," emphasized Verstappen.
They would keep fighting for the World Cup and continue in the best possible way, "at least from my side," said Verstappen.
Hamilton and Vettel comment on controversial anti-LGBT law in Hungary
Hamilton, on the other hand, didn't really want to talk much about the accident at the beginning of his Q&A. “I think everything that was said was said in the last race,” he emphasized, but then made it clear, among other things: “None of us want another driver to be injured.” The fierce and sometimes racist criticism of him Hamilton reported that there was nothing new for him on social media after the win. But he got a lot of encouragement, including from Formula 1. “For the first time, I had the feeling that I was not alone in this sport,” said Hamilton, who then took a clear position on another topic himself. Together with Sebastian Vettel, he spoke about the planned referendum against the rights of non-heterosexual people (LGBT) in Hungary. "It's shameful for the country," said Vettel,who wore rainbow-colored sneakers ("I just want to express my support for those who are affected") at a press conference on the course northwest of the Hungarian capital. The 34-year-old native of Heppenheim emphasized that he couldn't understand why the government was struggling so that people could simply live freely as they wanted.
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban recently announced a referendum on a controversial law targeting non-heterosexual people. Among other things, the law prohibits advertising in which homosexuals or transsexuals appear as part of normality. The EU Commission sees it as discriminatory and has taken steps against Hungary.
Hamilton pledged his support via Instagram to those affected by the law. "It is unacceptable, cowardly and misleading of those in power to propose such a law," wrote the 36-year-old, who has campaigned for human rights for a long time and uses his exposed role to denounce abuses. “Everyone deserves the freedom to be what they want. No matter what you love or how you feel. "Hamilton called on the people of Hungary to" vote in the upcoming referendum to protect the rights of the LGBTQ + community. They need our support more than ever. "