Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton Involved in Controversial Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W15 leads Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Hungary at Hungaroring on July 21, 2024 in Budapest, Hungary.
Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W15 leads Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Hungary at Hungaroring on July 21, 2024 in Budapest, Hungary. / James Sutton - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

The Hungarian Grand Prix was full of wild moments, but the one scene that takes the cake is when Red Bull driver Max Verstappen and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton were involved in a collision during a charge for the final spot on the podium.

Verstappen attempted to pass Hamilton on the track, but Hamilton's front right crashed into Verstappen's back left tire. This caused the Red Bull driver's rear to leap into the air, creating a dramatic scene on the track. This slowed Verstappen down, but he wasn't eliminated from the race.

Hamilton ended up in third, claiming his 200th podium finish, while Verstappen didn't reach the podium and settled for fifth.

The crash is currently under investigation by the FIA.

The irony of the situation is that at the beginning of Sunday's race, Verstappen shot off a heated rant about McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri, who ended up winning his first Formula 1 race Sunday, and Lando Norris nearly coming together at the opening turn of the race.

"OK, so you can just drive people off the track then?" Verstappen could be heard telling his team on the radio. “You can tell the FIA that's how we're going to race from now onwards! Just driving people off the road!”

Verstappen and Hamilton have a history of controversial finishes at F1 races, the most notable one being the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix when the FIA incorrectly allowed for a restart of the final lap. Verstappen passed Hamilton on that lap, which gave the Red Bull driver his first championship. Hamilton has expressed how he was "robbed" of the championship.


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Madison Williams

MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.