Sir Jackie Stewart has blasted Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen for their actions this season and during their rivalry.
The two drivers have been caught up in an epic title rivalry, with Verstappen currently sitting 12 points ahead of his rival. Despite the pair doing their best to race hard and fair, they have been involved in some dangerous incidents.
The first was at Silverstone, where the two collided and Verstappen was sent into the barriers at 180 mph. Then they crashed into each other at Monza, with the Dutchman’s car ending up millimetres away from Hamilton’s head.
Stewart blasted Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen for what they have done during the season, and said that no rivalry is more important than well-being.
“We should be careful that they don’t get too carried away with the need to win a race,” he told Motorsport-Magazin.com.
“I think they are both overdoing it a bit at the moment. We’ve seen that in at least two situations. I hope we will remember it in as positive a way as possible because I don’t want anything bad to happen, even though motorsport is so safe these days.
“The accident that happened at Silverstone – in my time he (Verstappen) would have died. I think the problem at Silverstone was that they both did things they shouldn’t have done so early in the race. I think they were both cocky.”
Hard and fast
At Silverstone, Hamilton received a 10-second penalty after the stewards deemed him to be predominantly be at fault for the accident. He went on to win the race, turning the already-heated argument among fans into a toxic and unfortunate one.
There were racist comments hurled at Hamilton, and F1 with the teams involved condemned the abuse.
Verstappen also expressed his displeasure with Hamilton’s actions, tweeting that he was ‘disrespectful’ and ‘unsportsmanlike’. Although they are very civil off the track, time will tell if tempers will flare if a third incident were to occur.