Hamilton advises Verstappen to 'act like a champion' following Hungarian GP drama

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium — Lewis Hamilton has called on Max Verstappen to demonstrate the qualities expected of a world champion following a controversial Hungarian Grand Prix that saw a collision between the two drivers.

After dominating the sport for the past two seasons, Verstappen now finds himself under increased scrutiny as competition intensifies. His fifth-place finish in Hungary followed a high-profile on-track incident with Hamilton, which drew criticism for Verstappen's aggressive driving style and heated exchanges over team radio.

Addressing Verstappen's response to increased pressure and Red Bull's recent performance decline, Hamilton remarked, "You have to be a team leader, a team member. Maybe not so much a team leader but more so just always remember you are a teammate with lots of people and you have to act like a world champion."

Hamilton further emphasized his point with a laugh when asked to elaborate on acting like a champion: "That's a good question. Not like it was last weekend!"

Hamilton is also planning to question the wording from the stewards' assessment of their Hungarian Grand Prix collision. The stewards indicated Hamilton "could have done more to avoid the collision," a judgment that has raised eyebrows in the racing community. Verstappen's aggressive maneuver at Turn 1, involving a brake lock-up, led to the collision as Hamilton held his racing line.

Summarizing the incident, the stewards stated, "It was clear that Car 1 [Verstappen] locked up both front wheels on the approach to Turn One prior to any impact occurring but missing the normal cornering line for a typical overtaking manoeuvre. The driver of Car 44 [Hamilton] stated that this was a racing incident, whilst the driver of Car 1 argued that this was a case of changing direction under braking. The stewards do not consider this to be a typical case of 'changing direction under braking' although it is our determination that the driver of Car 44 could have done more to avoid the collision. Accordingly, we determine that no driver was predominantly to blame and decide to take no further action."

Hamilton expressed his surprise at the stewards' decision. "I was really, really surprised by it," he said. "I was very relaxed about the situation. Just saying 'look, it was just a racing incident, let's just move on.' But considering one car was in control and one car was not in control at the time. Obviously when all the wheels are locked you are not in control. And if you look at the replay, at the end of the whole move I'm very, very far from the apex, so there's a lot of room on the right-hand side. So I was very, very surprised at the stewards. I don't know who typed it up but probably that'll be a question when I speak to them at some stage."

Hamilton also confirmed that no further discussions have taken place between himself and Verstappen regarding the incident. "We didn't talk afterwards. We went to the stewards and that's it. Yeah, we've not had a talk. I don't know if we will, if we get time. Maybe we'll talk in the [drivers'] parade this weekend. I've not felt like there's necessarily a need to, but there might be something he wants to say. But we didn't get the time to do it."

With the Belgian Grand Prix on the horizon, the racing world keenly anticipates whether the rivalry between Hamilton and Verstappen will continue to shape the season.

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