Lewis Hamilton has aimed a not-so-subtle dig in the direction of Max Verstappen in comments made post-race after this year’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone. 

At the same event last year, Verstappen and Hamilton had been embroiled in a heated first-lap duel as Hamilton looked to overtake Verstappen both in the race as well as in the 2021 Championship. As the two arrived at the high-speed Copse corner, Hamilton was gaining on Verstappen but after a quick look down the outside, decided to take the inside line to Verstappen, with Verstappen ahead of the Brit going into the right-handed corner. What happened next has been the centre of widespread debate in the fraternity- as Hamilton ended up making contact with the rear of the Red Bull and send Max spinning all the way, hitting the barriers with a force of 51G. 

Also read: F1: Winners, losers (and Max Verstappen) from the 2022 British Grand Prix

While Max ended up in the hospital as a precautionary measure after the high-speed crash, Hamilton received a 10-second penalty for his role in the crash, but in the absence of his main rival, went on to claim a win anyway- a win that he celebrated wildly, and which proved to be the start of a fractious relationship between the two teams and drivers through the season. 

It was deja vu this year in the British Grand Prix this weekend, as Hamilton was in pretty much the same situation, but racing Leclerc instead of Verstappen this time around in what was an exciting end-of-the-race battle for 3rd place. On this occasion, Leclerc was able to exit the Copse corner unscathed, as Hamilton gave the Ferrari more room than he did the Red Bull last year, to successfully make the corner. The two drivers continued on and provided some thrilling racing action to the spectators. 

Also read: Why fans at British GP booed Max Verstappen

However, it now appears that Hamilton was eager to use this year’s events to aim a dig at Verstappen. 

Hamilton told Sky Sports F1 after the race, “Charles did a great job; what a great battle.”

“He’s a very sensible driver, clearly a lot different to what I experienced last year. Around Copse, for example, two of us went through there no problem. But what a battle”,  added Hamilton, in a clear bid to cast some blame for last year’s incident on the current World Champion.

“We had to have the tyre deficit in order to get past him but a really, really amazing weekend.”

Also read: Max Verstappen vs Lewis Hamilton: Moments that defined F1 2021

Replays of the incident with Leclerc this year show that Hamilton, unlike in last year’s race, took the apex of the corner- something he hadn’t done against Verstappen last year as the two duelled, so it is a slippery wicket for Hamilton to be opening up old wounds yet again, particularly when the replays reveal something else entirely. 

Formula 1 fans won’t be complaining though, as there has been a dearth of Hamilton vs Verstappen battles on the race track this season. After all, Hamilton and Verstappen- last year’s title protagonists, haven’t resumed hostilities this year largely because the Brit has endured a torrid season failing to win a single race so far this year- looking backward rather than forward for most of this season, while also having to watch Verstappen battling at the top of the grid as he aims to win his 2nd World Drivers’ Championship. 

Also read: Crash adds edge to escalating Lewis Hamilton-Max Verstappen rivalry

However, Silverstone offered some hope of that changing as Mercedes showed some strong improvement at last, and there will hope that the two drivers can once again battle on the race track next weekend at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.