The title rivalry in Formula One heated up again on Friday, with championship leader Max Verstappen labelling Lewis Hamilton a “stupid idiot” as they went wheel-to-wheel in the second practice session for the United States Grand Prix.
On a sweltering and steamy Texas afternoon at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas, the 24-year-old Red Bull racer likewise gave the seven-time world champion, the most successful driver of all time, a single digit salute as the Mercedes sped away.
Over the radio, his race engineer told him, “Ignore it, don’t worry about it.” Christian Horner, the Red Bull team’s boss, joked that Verstappen was only pointing out who was in first place in the rankings.
With six rounds remaining, Verstappen leads Hamilton by six points, and the rivalry is heating up with each race as the pendulum swings one way and then the other.
Sergio Perez, a Mexican teammate of the Dutch youngster, was fastest in the second session, with a best lap of one minute 34.946 seconds.
“It was a good day, obviously it’s going to be very tight,” said Perez, whose role will be to support Verstappen unless circumstances fall his way.
“There’s a lot to be done to try to improve the car,” he added.
Meanwhile, Verstappen was annoyed by traffic and was unable to complete a proper flying lap. After finishing third in the morning, he finished eighth in the afternoon session.
“The track’s quite bumpy and to find the right compromise with the car hasn’t been the easiest so far,” said Verstappen.
Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion from the United Kingdom who is now a Sky television pundit, wondered whether Hamilton was playing mind game.
“Obviously it did rattle Max a little bit, he was very upset on the radio,” he said.
“It’s been quite a fiery day for Max, to be fair. Not getting his lap. I think there’s a bit of frustration building, with that incident he couldn’t get his lap and then he had traffic in FP2 on his new tyres for two laps in a row.”
Lando Norris of McLaren was second fastest, with Hamilton third when his best lap was removed due to violating track limitations.
“Generally it’s been a good day but still work to do,” said the champion, who will be chasing a record-extending 101st career win on Sunday and sixth in nine races in Austin.
Mercedes had dominated the opening session, with Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton’s Finnish teammate, 0.045 seconds faster than the champion, and Verstappen third but nearly a second slower than the Finn.
Bottas, who finished fourth in the afternoon session, will be penalised five places for the race on Sunday after using his sixth engine of the season, which is three more than the rules allow.
Mercedes are the clear favourites to win on Sunday after taking pole in the last six races. The round from the previous year was cancelled because to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the morning, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were fourth and fifth, giving the team a lift as it battled McLaren for third.
After three minutes, Fernando Alonso came to a halt on the track, and the session was called off. The Spaniard, who eventually returned, did so as a precaution, according to the team.
Late in the session, Haas’ Mick Schumacher and Perez clashed on the rough track, with the Mexican being displeased by the German rookie but ultimately settling matters. No additional action was taken by the stewards.
Comments
Post a Comment