Fernando Alonso’s mechanic takes aim at Lewis Hamilton after Max Verstappen clash in Hungary

Follow us on Google Discover

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen’s clash during the Hungarian Grand Prix was the latest on-track spat between the pair that divided opinion.

Verstappen was chasing Hamilton for third place and was angry with his team after they put him on an unfavourable strategy, causing him to drop out of the podium-paying positions.

The Red Bull driver initally tried to overtake him before the final pit stops, but was shoved wide at Turn 2 prompting a series of messages to his team over forcing him off track.

Verstappen later tried another move on Hamilton at Turn 1, this time taking to the inside of the Mercedes. When he reached the apex both front tyres locked up, causing him to run wide and clip Hamilton’s front left tyre with his rear right tyre.

The collision sent his RB20 into the air briefly, before landing into the escape road having lost a position to Charles Leclerc.

The incident was similar to what happened to Alonso in Austria, whereby the Spaniard was issued with a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision. One of Alonso’s mechanics took to social media website Instagram to remark on the similarities.

Fernando Alonso’s mechanic reacts to Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton clash

While the stewards investigated the incident and deemed no further action, former F1 driver Tiff Needell branded Verstappen a ‘petulant child’ while Sky Sports F1 commentator Naomi Schiff felt Verstappen was disrespectful to his Red Bull team after the radio messages.

Comparing the incident to one that Alonso suffered in Austria, Aston Martin’s Number One mechanic for the Spaniard, Mikey Brown, remarked the clash.

Posting on his Instagram stories channel, Brown wrote “leaving this here” with a comparison to Alonso’s penalty and the investigation between Verstappen and Hamilton being deemed no further action.

Why was Fernando Alonso penalised in Austria?

Alonso was slammed with a massive 10-second time penalty for a collision with Zhou Guanyu during the first quarter of the Austrian GP.

The Spaniard emerged from the pit lane and attempted to overtake Tsunoda on the inside at Turn 3, but arrived with too much speed and bumped Zhou off track by running into his sidepod.

The stewards issued the time penalty and two points on his FIA Super Licence, which put Alonso up to 10 points and crucially only two away an automatic one-race ban.

These points have since been reduced at the recent rounds in Silverstone and Hungary, per the rules that dictate that they are wiped after 12 months.