Verstappen shock damage would have forced Hamilton to DNF without a red flag, Mercedes says

The controversial contact of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen in the first round of the British Grand Prix made headlines the day after the race. But according to Mercedes, Hamilton’s final victory would not have been possible without the red flag resulting from the crash, after the seven-time champion suffered damage to the rim of his wheel.

Hamilton and Verstappen faced off in the first round of the British Grand Prix when Hamilton attempted a bold move inside Copse’s quick right-hander, with him and Verstappen making contact that sent the Dutchman through the barriers.

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After a red flag with those barriers set, Hamilton then made a remarkable recovery after receiving a 10-second penalty for the incident, overtaking Charles Leclerc with two laps to go and passing for the win. But Mercedes revealed after the race just how close Hamilton is to retirement after contact with Verstappen.

“We had failed on the rim where we had contact at the front left,” said Andrew Shovlin, trackside team technical director, “so it would have been a abandonment of the track if he didn’t. there had been no red flag.

“The rest of the damage was actually remarkably small,” he added. “It was a tire temperature sensor that had come loose, so it was swaying, but surprisingly, it’s the least important part of the front fender – and it’s the only one that broke. “

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Reflecting on Hamilton’s victory, Shovlin said it was “really nice” to be able to watch the Mercedes driver come back up and eventually pass Leclerc on lap 50 of 52, as he praised Hamilton’s efforts to secure his eighth victory. in the British Grand Prix.

“From the point of view of our race organizers, who were predicting it live, we were looking to catch [Charles] two laps from the finish, ”said Shovlin.

“When we thought it was the case, I said there were five laps after [push]. You normally see the tires drop, but you could just see Lewis holding that eight-tenths advantage over Charles with each lap and Lewis just wasn’t lowering and the balance was happy.

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“And to be honest with Lewis, you can hear it in his voice and in what he says on the radio; you just get that switch where he knows in his head he’s going to do it today. To be honest, it was really nice to be sitting on the pit wall just watching this last stint play out, because it was a great win and a well-deserved win for Lewis.

The victory puts Hamilton just eight points behind Verstappen in the drivers ‘standings, with Mercedes only four points behind Red Bull in the constructors’ list.