Red Bull Motorsport Director Helmut Marko had said before the Sochi Grand Prix that Hamilton would not have been there “if he had really had serious neck pain or problems”. Hamilton said in the Formula 1 paddock on the Black Sea: “I don’t really hear what these people are talking about.”
Hamilton complained of neck pain and headaches immediately after the crash in which Max Verstappen crashed into the British’s Mercedes with the Red Bull and hit it in the head with a rear wheel. “I didn’t say I was going to die,” emphasized Hamilton, who probably only escaped a serious injury through the Halo cockpit protection. “The whole incident was certainly not life-threatening,” Marko had recently emphasized on RTL.
After the Monza Grand Prix, Hamilton traveled to New York for the famous Met Gala. He had himself checked through again the next day and also did exercises with his physiotherapist Angela Cullen himself on the flight to the USA.
It was not the first time in this highly competitive season that defending champion Hamilton and challenger Verstappen clashed on the track. At Silverstone, Verstappen crashed into the tire wall after a collision at high speed.
Hamilton emphasized that he never expected a driver to give in, but also said: “Ultimately, we all have to be smart. We all have to get around the corner.”
Finding the right balance is a matter of experience. It is now much easier for him to deal with this tough championship fight than in his first title triumph in 2008 in McLaren or his entry year, when he lost the world championship with one point less to Kimi Räikkönen (then Ferrari). Before the Russian Grand Prix, Hamilton is five points behind Verstappen.
dpa
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Stand: 23.09.2021, 12:47
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