After the race at Silverstone last Sunday, Hamilton took a swipe at Verstappen, claiming Charles Leclerc – with whom he had a great tussle during the race – was a “very sensible” than his 2021 season rival, siting he did not have a problem to go through Copse with the Monegasque.
Verstappen and Hamilton had a infamous clash at Copse at the 2021 version of the British race, where the former ended up spearing into the barriers at full speed, thankfully unharmed, while the latter received a ten-second-time penalty for his contribution in the accident.
Verstappen did not wait long to hit back at Hamilton, as the matter was brought up on the eve of the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix.
Hamilton learning at 37 a good sign
“I think it’s great that, when you’re 37 years old, at some point you understand how to get to an apex,” the reigning Formula 1 Champion quipped, speaking to the Dutch press at the Red Bull Ring.
“He does learn, so that’s positive for the younger drivers: when you’re 37 you still are always learning!” he sarcastically added.
But then Verstappen added: “You can clearly see it in the images, of course. Charles gave him less space than I did last year, so that says enough.
“Moreover, he received a penalty last year, so you should not talk about that,” he maintained. “He has to live with it himself.
“I think it’s a bit clumsy but, in the end, it has nothing to do with my performance. I have to focus on what we’re doing here.
“I think we’re doing quite well this year, so we’ll keep working on that,” the Red Bull ace concluded.