Coulthard hints at Hamilton’s blame for Verstappen crash despite penalty

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Former F1 runner-up David Coulthard has suggested Lewis Hamilton was to blame for his bizarre collision with Max Verstappen at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Verstappen had vigorously defended the lead in similar circumstances to the São Paulo Grand Prix on lap 37, with both drivers moving into the clearance zone at the first and second corners, with Red Bull ordering the Dutchman to concede the position.

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In the confusion that followed, Hamilton hit Red Bull’s back when Verstappen attempted to let him pass on Turn 27, causing damage to both cars and giving the 24-year-old driver a time penalty for a “test drive. braking “.

For Coulthard, the drama drew similarities with his incident with Michael Schumacher in Belgium in 1998 where the German hit a McLaren that was slowing down while turning in dangerous conditions.

“Based on my experience in 98 when Michael hit my back at Spa where I was told I had to let Michael pass, I slowed down to allow Michael to pass, then he ran behind the back of me, ”Coulthard explained, speaking to F1 Nation.

“There was a lot of criticism of me back in the days of ‘did I test it under brakes, did I do something to try and help Mika in the championship?’ No, I just followed the team’s instructions and tried to let him go.

“Max was told to let Lewis pass. He slowed down strategically and if you look Lewis is slowing down and there’s no contact at the start. Then when he’s a little unsure I think he was probably a little confused as to whether there was a virtual safety car.

“You can’t look at your cockpit and rush around to get that information and look in the cockpit. All of these things come together where he then hit Max on the back.”

Verstappen “deserved to win” – Coulthard

Hamilton was able to heal the damage to the front wing until the end of the grand prix, completing the fastest lap of the process to tie the points with Verstappen ahead of the season final in Abu Dhabi.

When asked if the right driver won the inaugural race in Jeddah, Coulthard replied: “I wish I could just give a black and white [answer], but I can’t say it because I think if you analyze Max’s run, his overtaking to get down inside the two cars and still take the turn was brilliant.

“His use of allowing Lewis to overtake just before the DRS [activation point] then doubling it up again and getting the DRS was a brilliant side reflection.

“I think there are a lot of things that for me would say that Max deserved to win this grand prize.

“Of course you can start to analyze Lewis’ race and he is still outstanding when it comes to wheel-to-wheel racing.

“He got through … he had contact with Ocon, but not really damaged and he managed to hit Max’s rear and, although he damaged his front wing, anyone from another would have knocked off his entire front wing.

“He’s amazing in close races and ultimately managed to win this race.”

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