Hamilton accused by Verstappen of non-compliance with rules during overtaking maneuver

Winner of a runaway Australian GP early this Sunday (afternoon, local time), Max Verstappen was not happy with the maneuver he suffered from Lewis Hamilton at the start of the race, when he was overtaken by his rival and by George Russell. The Dutchman was surrounded by the seven-time champion at turn 2 and ended up falling from first to third place, at the time.

– For my part, I just tried to avoid contact. It is clear in the rules what you are allowed to do on the outside of the curve, but perhaps they are not being followed. We had good pace and we passed them anyway. But it’s something I want to discuss at the next races,” he complained.

The maneuver took place in the first meters of the stage, after Russell passed the Dutchman on the outside and shot in the lead. Hamilton was wheel to wheel with Verstappen and overcame his RBR rival on the inside of curve 2. The two-time champion ended up escaping the track, ceding the vice-leadership.

The rule that Verstappen complains about was instituted last year by the International Automobile Federation (FIA), among the changes promoted as a result of the controversial final of the 2021 season, at the Abu Dhabi GP.

The norm determines that, when overtaking inside a curve, it is necessary that the car attempting the maneuver has a “significant portion” of the vehicle next to the opponent who wants to overtake.

For Verstappen, that’s not quite what happened; the Dutchman justifies that Hamilton did not leave him space before taking the lead with his Mercedes and forced him to give up his position on the track to avoid a collision.

One of the observed requirements for considering that a car is close enough to pass the other is the position of the front tires at the apex of the corner.

– We had a bad start. I was careful because I had a lot to lose – and they had a lot to gain. After that, the pace of the car was fast, you could see it on the straight – complained the current leader of the championship.