Bahrain GP winner Vettel slams "not fair" questioning after Hamilton is asked about Verstappen comments
Thursday 13 December 2018 12:10, UK
Sebastian Vettel leapt to the defence of Lewis Hamilton after his championship rival was questioned about calling Max Verstappen a "d***head" following the Bahrain GP.
Following an enthralling and intense race, Hamilton made the slur as he watched a highlight of his and Verstappen's Lap Two collision in the cool-down room.
That comment led to an opening question for Hamilton from a Dutch journalist in the post-race press conference about whether use of the word was "correct", but Vettel immediately intervened: "Can I answer that?"
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The Bahrain race-winner continued: "I think it's not fair. I mean, I don't know what Lewis did. We've all been in that situation, we fight someone, we go sometimes wheel-to-wheel, it's close and you have a lot of adrenaline going.
"Do you think comparing to football, if you have a microphone on a football player's mouth, that everything he says is something nice and is a nice message when the guy tackles him and maybe sometimes he fouls him or not?
"I don't think it's justified to give us these kind of s*** questions and making up a story out of nothing, if we are just racing and we are full of adrenaline and sometime we say these things.
"I mean, if I hit you in your face, you're not going to say 'oh, Sebastian, that wasn't nice'. It's a human reaction."
Sitting beside Vettel, who he battled in an often-fiery 2017 campaign, Hamilton did not address the journalist's remarks directly but went on to accuse Verstappen of showing a lack of "respect".
The two drivers came together as Verstappen attempted a move up the inside of Mercedes into Turn One, only to suffer a puncture and subsequently have to retire from the race due to the damage to his Red Bull.
Hamilton also insisted the Dutchman, who he has tipped for multiple world titles in the past, was making too many mistakes.
"There needs to be a certain respect between drivers," claimed Hamilton. "And ultimately… maybe I need to go and watch the manoeuvre again, but it didn't feel like a respectful manoeuvre.
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"It was a silly manoeuvre for himself, because he didn't finish the race. And obviously he's tending to make quite a few mistakes recently, so it was just unnecessary for him to do that."
Verstappen has endured a frustrating start to the 2018 campaign, spinning out of contention at the season-opening Australian GP before crashing out of qualifying in Bahrain - an error that meant he started the race down in 15th.
The 20-year-old was, however, adamant that it was Hamilton who did not leave enough room on the second lap.
"I had a good run out of the last corner so I went for the inside," Verstappen told Sky F1. "Lewis was trying to go around the outside but at one point I was ahead.
"I think Lewis still had enough space on the left but I got a touch on the left rear and it destroyed my diffuser.
"I think if it was the other way around he would have said something. From my side I gave him enough room."
The post-race press conference transcript
Question: "Lewis, I believe, if my ears are correct, you used the word 'd***head' after the race concerning Max Verstappen and the overtake and the contact. Is that correct? And more importantly, is there an opinion you have on the contact you had with Max in the beginning stages of the race? Who was wrong, or was it just a racing incident?
Sebastian Vettel: "Can I answer that question?"
Q: "Yes."
SV: "I think it's not fair… I mean, I don't know what Lewis did. We've all been in that situation, we fight someone, we go sometimes wheel-to-wheel, it's close and you have a lot of adrenaline going, do you think comparing to football, if you have a microphone on a football player's mouth, that everything he says is something nice and is a nice message when the guy tackles him and maybe sometimes he fouls him or not. So I don't think it's justified to give us these kind of s*** questions and making up a story out of nothing, if we are just racing and we are full of adrenaline and sometimes we say these things. I mean if I hit you in your face, you're not going to say 'oh, Sebastian, that wasn't nice'. It's a human reaction. Sometimes I feel it's all a bit blown up and artificial if we have these questions, trying to make a story out of nothing. So, it's not personal, don't take it personal. So I think we should cut it right there, so now if Lewis can answer."
Moderator: "I'll just apologise for any colourful language in Sebastian's answer there. Now over to you, Lewis."
Lewis Hamilton: "Honestly, I don't really remember it. I think maybe it was when we were talking afterwards? Ultimately, I had a coming together with Max and it was an unnecessary collision. There needs to be a certain respect between drivers and ultimately… maybe I need to go and watch the manoeuvre again, but it didn't feel like a respectful manoeuvre, but ultimately it was a silly manoeuvre for himself, because he didn't finish the race. And obviously he's tending to make quite a few mistakes recently, so it was just unnecessary for him to do that. I can't really remember at what stage of the race it was or why we were even in that position, but yeah, I don't really care to be honest."
