Hamilton owns up to near miss with Verstappen

IMOLA, Italy (CMC):

British race car driver Lewis Hamilton accepted responsibility for impeding three-time defending world champion Max Verstappen of the Netherlands during the second free practice yesterday for the Emilia-Romagna Formula 1 Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion with Grenadian heritage said he tried to apologise to Verstappen, but the Dutchman was too frustrated after struggling with the balance of his Red Bull car on the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit.

Verstappen encountered a slow-moving Hamilton at the Villeneuve chicane and was forced to swerve aggressively across the track to convey his displeasure to the Mercedes driver.

Onboard footage showed Hamilton raising his hand in apology, with Verstappen cutting a frustrated figure after the session, having finished a distant seventh and making a series of uncharacteristic mistakes throughout the opening day.

“I was on a cool-down lap,” Hamilton said. “I thought I was well clear, but all of a sudden, he was right on me and ultimately it was my mistake. I tried to apologise, but he was too frustrated.”

Hamilton claimed fourth ahead of Mercedes teammate George Russell after their team installed a series of upgrades for this GP with the hope of kick-starting their season and still awaiting their first podium finish.

“It’s been a good start to the weekend,” Hamilton said. “We’re a lot closer than we have been, it seems, but we’ll see how [Saturday] goes.

“I’m really grateful to everyone back at the factory for pushing so hard to bring these upgrades because we are seeing improvements in the car and our performance on track.”

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of France ended the session on top after setting the fastest lap, leading from McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia and RB Racing driver Yuki Tsunoda of Japan.