Verstappen points the finger at Hamilton: Stupid idiot

We are only into the second practice session of the 2021 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, and already Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton have courted controversy with the Dutchman lashing out at the Mercedes driver.

The pair ended up wheel to wheel down the start-finish straight at the Circuit of Americas in Austin, and as Hamilton took the inside line into Turn 1 Verstappen had to list and was less than happy with the seven-time champion.

As Hamilton drove away towards Turn 2, Verstappen branded the Englishman a 'stupid idiot' on team radio. The Red Bull driver also flipped the bird at Hamilton as he got more and more angry towards his rival.

Hamilton and Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas topped the timesheets in Practice 1 at the US GP, almost one second clear of Verstappen. Checo Perez recorded the best time in the session after Valtteri Bottas did so with medium tires in the morning.

The Mexican driver was followed by Lando Norris, Hamilton and Bottas, with Verstappen finishing in the eighth position, after a fast lap attempt in which he encountered traffic and complained about it on radio.

Both McLaren drivers finished ahead of Ferrari as Daniel Ricciardo came fifth followed by Charles Leclerc in seventh and Carlos Sainz in ninth.

Rivalry heats up further

It isn't the first time this season that Hamilton and Verstappen have butted heads, with the first incident of note taking place at Imola when the Red Bull driver seemed to push Hamilton off the road, Then came Silverstone where Verstappen sped into the barriers after coming together with Hamilton.

Things reached a climax at the Italian GP where Hamilton refused to yield to Verstappen at the end of the main straight and into the first chicane, with the Red Bull car ending up on top of the Mercedes and both drivers retired from the race.

Standings

1º S. Perez Red Bull 1'34"946 24

2º L. Norris McLaren 1'35"203 +00"257 20

3º L. Hamilton Mercedes 1'35"310 +00"364 22

4º V. Bottas Mercedes 1'35"360 +00"414 24

5º D. Ricciardo McLaren 1'35"457 +00"511 21

6º L. Stroll Aston Martin 1'35"561 +00"615 25

7º C. Leclerc Ferrari 1'35"572 +00"626 23

8º M. Verstappen Red Bull 1'35"824 +00"878 23

9º Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1'35"919 +00"973 24

10º A. Giovinazi Alfa Romeo 1'36"138 +01"192 26

11º E. Ocon Alpine 1'36"158 +01"212 23

12º P. Gasly AlphaTauri 1'36"242 +01"296 25

13º Fernando Alonso Alpine 1'36"376 +01"430 18

14º K. Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 1'36"558 +01"612 25

15º S. Vettel Aston Martin 1'36"718 +01"772 30

16º Y. Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1'36"983 +02"037 24

17º M. Schumacher Haas 1'37"041 +02"095 24

18º N. Latifi Williams 1'37"254 +02"308 26

19º G. Russell Williams 1'37"490 +02"544 21

20º N. Mazepin Haas 1'38"026 +03"080 23

Adblock test (Why?)