Lewis Hamilton aimed his fire at Max Verstappen’s Orange Army, telling them it was “mind-blowing” they cheered him on when he crashed at 140mph during qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix.
It was on Friday night when the seven-time world champion lost the rear of his Mercedes and went right into the tire barrier. He sat in the cockpit for some time before emerging unharmed.
But the joy with which his misfortune was met was a reminder that he was in enemy territory. Around 60,000 orange-clad fans have come here in cars, camper vans and caravans from Holland to support Verstappen. The Red Bull Ring is a 12-hour drive from Amsterdam, but the distance hardly deterred the die-hards in the crowd of 105,000.
Lewis Hamilton was not impressed with the public reaction to his crash in qualifying
They were rewarded for their devotion by seeing their man win the sprint on Saturday and secure pole for Sunday’s race. Hamilton was eighth, but only after taking his spare chassis after the previous evening’s incident and then moving up from 11th after a minor crash on the first lap.
Speaking for the first time about the bigger hit, Hamilton said: “I didn’t hear them cheering during the crash. I was going through a bunch of stuff, but I heard it afterwards and I don’t agree with any of it, no matter what.
“A driver could be in hospital and you’re going to be happy about that? It’s mind boggling that people would do that knowing how dangerous our sport is.
Hamilton lost control of his Mercedes at Turn 7 and ended up in the barriers on Friday
“I was thankful I didn’t end up in hospital and wasn’t seriously injured. You should never rejoice in someone’s fall or injury. It shouldn’t have happened at Silverstone and it shouldn’t have happened here.
Hamilton was referring to last weekend’s British Grand Prix, where Verstappen was booed after taking pole. Now the clog is on the other foot.
As for the sprint, it was decent. Some stuck in the mud have condemned the format, but moving qualifying to Friday livens up the day, with the sprint a bonus that enriches Saturday. It also potentially mixes up the grand prize grid – all on merit, not due to reverse grid gimmicks. What don’t I like? Formula 1 should seriously consider organizing a sprint at each round, perhaps with a few changes, such as moving from a third of the length of the grand prix to half the distance and/or introducing a single stop.
Qualifying was postponed as Hamilton’s damaged Mercedes was withdrawn
However, Verstappen won relatively comfortably at the front after enduring a first-lap charge from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. The eight points he secured extended his lead over Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez to 38 and over Charles Leclerc in the other red car to 44.
By the way, Perez drove great. He was strong but measured in moving from 13th to fifth, three places behind Leclerc and one behind Mercedes’ George Russell. As for Ferrari, what on earth are they doing?
There were some odd moments on Saturday as their two men dueled and, like at Silverstone, you wonder why they didn’t throw everything behind Leclerc, their No.1, who started second compared to Sainz’s third.
Around 60,000 orange-clad fans traveled from Holland to support Max Verstappen
Now to Hamilton’s first lap incident in the sprint. Sandwiched between Alex Alban of Williams and Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri, he cut off the latter. “I got a little push in the wheels. I was attacked by the cars around me. Pierre moved on top of me so I had nowhere to go.
Hamilton continued, passing Albon and the Alfa Romeo of his old team-mate Val-tteri Bottas. He then clashed with Haas’ Mick Schumacher lap after lap until the Briton finally broke through just before the end.
“I was lucky to turn the first lap. I’m grateful to finish and take a point.”
Sebastian Vettel, meanwhile, received a £21,000 suspended fine for walking out of Friday’s drivers’ briefing in a fit of rage during a back-and-forth over track restrictions.
The Aston Martin driver who was hit on the gravel by Alex Alban during the sprint race was called to the stewards last night.
He had already apologized to race director Nils Wittich.
The stewards said: “Vettel left the meeting without permission, expressing frustration. Drivers are not free to leave whenever they want. At this level, they are role models for every driver in the world.”
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