SirJackie: Hammy noangel inbust-up
SIR JACKIE STEWART believes Lewis Hamilton must take some of the blame for his Baku bust-up with Sebastian Vettel.
A fiery Azerbaijan Grand Prix saw the title rivals clash on track with the Ferrari ace gesticulating wildly at the Brit before appearing to deliberately hit the back of his vehicle as the pair weaved behind a safety car.
The German claimed he had been brake tested by the three-time world champion but Hamilton denied that and labelled his rival a “disgrace” – with Vettel hit with a 10-second stop-andgo penalty and handed three penalty points on his licence.
But while track legend Stewart feels Vettel hasn’t helped his cause with the stunt the Scot reckons Hamilton should also accept responsibility.
He said: “Sebastian’s reputation is tarnished but what created the incident is what occurred when Lewis slowed down so quickly in a very unlikely place.
“That was a shock to Sebastian and that is why he came alongside Lewis to ask, ‘What the hell are you doing?’
“What Vettel then did was to unquestionably collide with Hamilton. There is no room for that, no excuse and it’s wrong. It’s inappropriate.
“It’d be simple to put the complete blame on one man but what initiated the bad behaviour was what happened before. Lewis put his brakes on so hard that Vettel hit him. I’ve never seen anyone come off the throttle so quickly.”