F1: Hamilton & Verstappen Crash Again At Monza As Both Retire

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen crashed again at Monza which resulted in both the drivers retiring from the Italian GP. The incident happened after the first rounds of pit stops in which Verstappen had a horrific 11-second pitstop which resulted in him falling behind Hamilton. But Hamilton himself had a slow 4.2 second stop which resulted in him coming out alongside Verstappen. He was naturally desperate to overtake his main world championship rival, collided with the 7-time world champion at the first chicane. Neither yield quarter and Verstappen's car jumped after bumping into the sausage curve landing him on top of Hamilton's car. 

Also Read: Ricciardo Wins Italian GP In Shock McLaren 1-2

Hamilton was quite fortunate to come out unscathed as the halo protected him from the Red Bull's tyres. This was Hamilton's first retirement in 3 years since the Austrian GP in 2018 underlying his consistency which has made him the most successful driver of all time. Verstappen and Red Bull, who expected to lose points in the race due to the inherent Mercedes power advantage at the long straights of Monza, ended up retaining the 5 point lead over the reigning world champion. 

Ricciardo overtook Verstappen at the start of the race

Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez finished P5 while Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas managed P3 after storming through the back of the grid. This means that Mercedes increased its advantage over Red Bull in the constructor's championship to 16 points. Red Bull team boss, Christian Horner deemed it a racing incident while Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was coyer and indicated that he would accept any decision by the stewards.  

Regardless, this incident is sure to stir up things as it accelerates the acrimony between the two drivers and the two teams after the crash between them at Silverstone. Back then, Red Bull lobbied unsuccessfully to get Hamilton banned for a few races. This time around thankfully, there doesn't seem to be as much of bitterness over the incident.