LEWIS IS ACCUSED OF HAMMING IT UP

Despite having a car land on his head!

RED BULL last night accused Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes of exaggerating injury after Sunday’s horror crash with Max Verstappen at the Italian Grand Prix.

Hamilton and Verstappen collided at the first chicane in Monza after the Red Bull driver bulldozed into the curb while wheel-to-wheel and landed on top of his Mercedes rival, ending both of their races and paving the way for Daniel Ricciardo to take victory for McLaren.

Verstappen has been given a three-place grid penalty for next Sunday’s Russian Grand Prix in Sochi.

However, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has reignited the animosity between the two teams, accusing Hamilton of putting on ‘a show’.

‘It was a normal racing accident. All the stories around it were pulled up by the hair by Mercedes,’ said Marko, who has previously labelled Hamilton ‘theatrical’.

‘Verstappen had already got out when Hamilton tried to go back to get out of the gravel. The medical car saw that and drove on. And then a show is put on that poor Hamilton is suddenly injured.’

The halo device above the cockpit prevented serious injury to Hamilton during the crash.

It was the two drivers’ second collision in five races, after contact sent Verstappen flying into the barriers at 180mph at the British Grand Prix in July.

Hamilton has since complained of soreness in his neck and, while he has been examined by the team doctor at Mercedes, Sportsmail understands he will see a neck specialist ahead of Russia.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff warned in Monza that any ‘fun’ in this rivalry had long since evaporated.

Wolff said: ‘We don’t want to have situations in the future where one loses a position and the only way of stopping the other one scoring is to take him out.

‘Both of them need to leave space for each other, race each other hard but avoid accidents.

‘It was good fun until now, but we have seen the halo save Lewis’ life on Sunday and Max had a heavy impact in Silverstone. We don’t want to get to a situation where we intervene because someone gets really hurt.’ Mercedes and Red Bull refused to address Marko’s comments when approached by