Furious Verstappen and Hamilton Clash During Emilia Romagna GP Practice
Imola saw tensions flare during practice for Sunday’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix as a furious Max Verstappen deliberately drove in front of Lewis Hamilton. The former rivals clashed after Verstappen, aggrieved that Hamilton had obstructed him on a flying lap, launched his Red Bull into the Mercedes driver’s path.
Although Verstappen avoided contact on the exit of the Villeneuve chicane, he made his feelings clear by slowing down, taking his left hand off the steering wheel, and gesticulating at Hamilton. Hamilton accepted blame, raising an apologetic hand towards Verstappen.
The incident highlighted an erratic day for both drivers, with Verstappen finishing seventh, half a second behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who topped both sessions. Leclerc, in his upgraded Ferrari, was 0.192 seconds clear of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, with Yuki Tsunoda a surprise third for AlphaTauri.
Mercedes also brought upgrades, and Hamilton finished fourth, 0.391 seconds behind Leclerc, just ahead of teammate George Russell. Earlier, Verstappen had set the fastest time before losing control at the chicane and running through a sandtrap on another hot lap.
In another incident, Fernando Alonso accused Hamilton of impeding him, saying, “Hamilton thinks that he is alone on the race track. It is the second lap he does it.”
Elsewhere, 19-year-old Ollie Bearman, expected to secure a full-time Haas drive next year, was back in an F1 car, finishing 15th. McLaren’s Lando Norris, fresh off his Miami GP win, ended the day in 12th.
