Max Verstappen escapes F1 penalty as stewards take no action on Lewis Hamilton clash

Max Verstappen has escaped a post-race penalty from the F1 stewards following his incident with Lewis Hamilton at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The 2021 F1 title rivals clashed on Lap 63 at the Hungaroring as they battled over third-place.

Verstappen attempted to overtake Hamilton down the inside at Turn 1.

The Dutchman locked up his front tyres, running deep, which resulted in contact with Hamilton.

Verstappen was sent airborne and off the track, but was able to continue, ultimately finishing fifth.

The three-time world champion protested his innocence after the race, insisting the move was “fully on” and that Hamilton had moved under braking.

The Mercedes driver laughed off Verstappen’s criticism as he secured the 200th F1 podium of his career.

The stewards have decided to take no action, as “no driver was predominantly to blame”.

However, they did note that Hamilton “could have done more to avoid the collision”.

The statement read: “On the approach to turn 1, both Car 44 and Car 1 overtook Car 23. Car 44 returned to the racing line before the braking zone and commenced to turn into turn 1.

“Car 1 approached the turn faster than on previous laps (due to DRS) and braked at the same point as previously. The driver of Car 1 argued that Car 44 was changing direction under braking. The driver of Car 44 stated that he was simply following his normal racing line (which was confirmed by examination of video and telemetry evidence of previous laps).

“It was clear that Car 1 locked up both front wheels on the approach to turn 1 prior to any impact occurring but missing the normal cornering line for a typical overtaking manoeuvre.

“The driver of Car 44 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.”