IGNITION

That clash between Hamilton and Verstappen

Formula 1’s August summer break is here, and hopefully a short holiday will help cool the jets of those – on both sides – who’ve become inflamed by Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen finally putting niceties aside and going at each other full pelt on the track.

What happened on lap one of the grand prix at Silverstone was almost inevitable. Verstappen is the first of F1’s new generation to be in position to genuinely threaten Hamilton’s pre-eminence. Max and Red Bull sense their time is now and have been in full attack mode since Bahrain. Not since Nico Rosberg’s final season has Hamilton been so on his back foot – and arguably never has he faced a rival of Verstappen’s ability and aggression combined.

The psychology is fascinating, and here you had a genuine line-in-the-sand moment. Twice this season already – at Imola and then Barcelona – these two went side-by-side on lap one with Max on the inside and Lewis on the outside. Each time Verstappen placed his car in such a way as to force Hamilton into evasive action to avoid a crash.

This time, Lewis had the inside line and the momentum. He may not have got the move done had they avoided contact – there’s every chance his entry speed would have carried him in too hot in any case – but the opportunity to pass was undoubtedly there, and this time Lewis turned tables on Max, asking his rival to make the choice.

Max is not a driver who yields. Witness how he went four wheels off-track at Abbey to keep the lead after the start, then squeezed Hamilton as they went side-by-side on Wellington Straight and towards Copse. The body language of Verstappen’s car said ‘thou shalt not pass’, while Hamilton – rather like Alain Prost against Ayrton Senna in 1989 – finally decided to stand up to the on-track bullying. Irresistible force met immoveable object and thus a social media war began.

This seminal moment also lifted the lid on simmering tensions between Red Bull and Mercedes – the off-track battleground of pitstop technology and flexi-wings spilling over into hyperbolic howls of protest about dirty driving, professional fouls and the ethics of lobbying stewards while they’re making decisions.

The real ugliness lay not in the incident itself, but in the aftermath. So-called fans pouring vitriol on each other and the drivers; Hamilton again being subjected to vile racist abuse on social media; Verstappen and Red Bull stoking tensions by accusing Hamilton of driving dangerously and behaving disrespectfully.

Peter Hain, vice-chairman of the All-party Parliamentary Group on F1, felt moved to step in, telling Reuters news agency that people should mind their language in the heat of the moment. Time now for a period of calm reflection, while looking forward to what we all hope will be a humdinger of a second half to this season.