Hamilton vs. Vettel: War of words following Baku clash

Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Lewis Hamilton has hit out at Sebastian Vettel after the cars came together during the Baku race.

Lewis Hamilton has said Sebastian Vettel ‘did not behave like a multiple champion’ after the Ferrari driver appeared to deliberately drive into Hamilton’s Mercedes after running into the back of him.

Vettel felt Hamilton had brake tested him, causing him to make contact with the back of the car, but Hamilton said: “I definitely didn’t brake-test Sebastian. It’s up to me to control the pace and then I felt a bump from behind.”

The Mercedes driver went on to say: “But that wasn’t the issue for me – everybody saw clearly what happened after,” referring to Vettel seemingly deliberately driving into the side of Hamilton’s car, for which Vettel was handed a 10 second stop-start penalty.

In a statement from Ferrari, Vettel felt the punishment was unfair: “I don’t know why I got the penalty and Lewis didn’t. It’s disappointing, because it could have been a better result. I don’t have a problem with Lewis but I just think that what he did on the track was not OK,” he said. “I still think that if you give out a penalty, then it should be to both drivers.” Hamilton said on team radio during the race that he felt the penalty handed to Vettel was inadequate.

Both drivers missed out on a podium after a number of issues, with Hamilton ultimately finishing fifth, and Vettel one place ahead of him in fourth. The result means Vettel extends his championship lead over Hamilton by two points.