JAKARTA - Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said Lewis Hamilton, who won Sunday's British Grand Prix, endangered Max Verstappen's life following a collision between the two drivers that occurred on the opening lap at the Silverstone Circuit.
Horner said the seven-time Mercedes world champion and the most successful driver in F1 history made an amateur error when trying to overtake at the Copse corner on the first lap.
He said Hamilton, who did not want to be blamed for what others called the race incident, had put the safety of other competitors at risk.
"We were lucky enough today, after the 51-G crash, no one was seriously injured. What makes me very angry is the lack of judgment, or misjudgment and desperation", Horner said, quoted by Antara from Reuters.
"Thankfully we got away from that today but it could have been much worse, a 10-second penalty would have seemed so meaningless".
また読む:
Hamilton's controversial win that day cut Verstappen's lead from 33 points to just eight points after 10 races this season.
Hamilton was awarded a 10-second penalty for causing the crash but managed to steal the lead from Charles Leclerc two laps from the finish to claim victory at home for the eighth time.
Horner said Verstappen was bruised and in hospital after the biggest crash of his Formula 1 career.
The crash caused the race to pause before restarting after the track was declared safe.
"I don't understand why Lewis is satisfied with winning when he sends his fellow competitors and drivers to the hospital", said Horner.
Hamilton was fastest in qualifying on Friday to take pole position for the sprint race tested on Saturday.
The finishing position in the sprint race determines the starting position of the rider in the core race the next day.
However, Verstappen took over the lead in the 17 lap race without a pitstop until he finished first and earned pole position for the British GP.
Horner said Hamilton's behavior was affected by the sprint race because he knew Verstappen would run away from his opponents if he didn't do something.
"I think he got carried away with yesterday's result", Horner said. "He's certainly very motivated, and he made a huge miscalculation".
Horner also criticized Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff for meeting the stewards when the race was stopped, saying their lobbying efforts were inappropriate.
"I don't think the stewards should be bothered", Horner said.
Horner then also met with race inspectors in response to Wolff's actions to ensure his team's views were also heard.
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