Tensions were raised during the second practice session for United States Grand Prix this morning with Max Verstappen clashing with title rival Lewis Hamilton, calling him a “stupid idiot”.
Hamilton frustrated Verstappen by pushing through on the inside of the Red Bull when the Dutchman was lining up a flying lap.
After the Mercedes almost pushed Verstappen off the track, the Dutchman gave way, lifting his right hand off the wheel to make a gesture with his middle finger at the rear end of Hamilton’s car.
Verstappen complained on team radio that Hamilton was a “stupid idiot” and never seemed to recover his poise, ending the session eighth fastest.
“They were obviously queing up to start the lap and Lewis decided just to jump Max there,” Red Bull principal Christian Horner told UK Sky TV from the pit lane.
“They have an unwritten rule in sessions like this that they take their turns and Max was pointing out that he was first in the queue.”
Verstappen kept his cool speaking to media afterwards.
“Just a mess with the traffic,” he said.
“We’re all lining up to go for our laps so I don’t really understand what happened there.”
Mercedes drivers Valtteri Bottas and Hamilton were both quicker than Verstappen in Friday’s first practice.
Bottas was fastest in the first session as Hamilton and Verstappen went 2-3. The Mercedes power surge on a track where its cars have dominated shows the work Verstappen must do Sunday to hold his slim championship lead. Verstappen leads Hamilton by six points with six races to go.
The Texas race is the first of a two-part swing in North America as the series heads next week to Mexico City. Both races were canceled by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
Mercedes has dominated the Austin track, winning five times since it opened in 2012. Hamilton has won four of those races and teammate Bottas won in 2019.
Verstappen is chasing his first championship. Hamilton has seven. An eighth would push Hamilton ahead of Michael Schumacher for the most in series history.