Max Verstappen couldn’t understand why he had to see the stewards after Formula 1’s Hungarian Grand Prix, believing “nothing happened” in his run-in with Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari.
The duo were summoned to see the stewards after the race for a mid-race incident at Turn 4 - in which Verstappen sent his Red Bull to the inside of the corner and Hamilton took avoiding action.
A no further action verdict was eventually returned after a hearing.
When speaking to media, having just been at the stewards', Verstappen couldn’t understand why an investigation was needed in the first place.
“Well, the thing is that nothing happens. We didn't even touch,” Verstappen said.
“That's the thing. So, for me, it's a bit difficult to understand why we have the investigation after the race.
“We explained our side- well, Lewis is not there, but we explained our sides of the story. I don't think Lewis actually felt a lot for it because if he really felt something for it, then of course he's there in the stewards room, right?
“I think both of us didn't have the best of weekends anyway, so that's just one little thing.
“The more important thing is that we have to look at our performance, which was not good.”
When asked what happened in the incident, Verstappen said: “Well, nothing.
“I went for a move at the inside. Of course it's a fast corner, but with downforce you’re a bit more under control anyway. I think he realised very late that I was up the inside there, so then he turned out of it a little bit and then course went off the track.
“And that was it. Yeah, we didn't touch, nothing happened.”
Asked to expand on if he felt it’s necessary for drivers to have the chance to give their view, Verstappen continued: “The problem is that we have so many rules of course, know, so it's always a complicated matter.
“It's not always super clear with things, but it's always a bit weird that you have to go to the stewards for something that- you didn't have even a contact or whatever.”
Asked about the Verstappen incident by Sky Sports F1, Hamilton said: “I don’t really remember it, to be honest”.
The stewards' reasoning
The stewards confirmed in their verdict that Hamilton had "waived his right to attend the hearing".
With the investigation having looked at the charge of "forcing another car off track", they found Verstappen not guilty despite describing his overtaking attempt as "ambitious".
"The driver of Car 1 [Verstappen] stated during the hearing that he had gained some momentum on Car 44 [Hamilton] out of Turn 3 with fresher tyres and used his momentum to make the move on the inside into Turn 4," the stewards wrote.
"He further elaborated that he was in full control of the his car and could have stayed further inside to leave space for Car 44 on the exit. However, he said, as Car 44 had gone off track, he elected to use all of the track on the exit.
"The [Ferrari] team representative of Car 44 confirmed that there was no contact between both cars and further stated that the driver of Car 44 chose not to attempt to remain on track.
"Taking all this into account, the stewards determine that there was no contact and that the incident does not qualify as forcing another car off track despite the ambitious nature of the overtaking attempt and take no further action."
