“If he wants to prove he’s a man he should do it out of the car face to face"- When tension between Lewis Hamilton and his rival boiled over off-track

Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel were once involved in a major incident at the 2017 F1 Azerbaijan GP which soured their on- and off-track relationship during that year. The incident involved Hamilton brake-testing Vettel and the latter's resultant outburst of anger towards the Brit.

Early on in the race at Baku, a safety car came out after Daniil Kvyat's Toro Rosso stopped on the tracks. At the time, Hamilton was leading the race and was being chased by Vettel. The top two drivers pitted for a tire change, but it did not change their positions. Out of the pits and back behind the safety car, Hamilton started slowing down and bunched up the pack before the restart.

This act of slowing down did not sit well with Vettel as he felt Hamilton was braking too much, to a point where it could be a brake-test violation. The cars collided which caused damage to Vettel's front wing. Angry with the Mercedes driver's tactic, the German driver went up alongside Hamilton and rammed his car into the Brit's. This was done intentionally; only their wheels touched and no further damage was done to the cars.

After the race, Hamilton labeled Vettel's on-track act "disgraceful." He then said that if the Ferrari driver wanted to "prove he was a man," he should have done it face to face after the race and not risk another driver's life while on track. Hamilton said (via The Guardian),

“Driving alongside and deliberately driving into a driver and getting away scot‑free pretty much – he still came away with fourth – I think that’s a disgrace. I think he disgraced himself today, to be honest.

“If he wants to prove that he’s a man, I think he should do it out of the car face to face. I think driving dangerously which can put another driver at risk – luckily we were going slow – but if we were going fast it could have been a lot worse.”

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Sebastian Vettel's take on his collision with Lewis Hamilton at the 2017 F1 Azerbaijan GP

While Lewis Hamilton criticized Sebastian Vettel for his rash behavior, Vettel did not hold back on expressing his anger after the race. The four-time world champion spoke about the collision between the two and described the damage to his front wing while Hamilton received some damage as well.

Vettel added he was not on board with the way Hamilton slowed down on the track. He further added that if he gets a penalty, then the Mercedes driver should as well. Vettel said (via The Guardian),

“It was quite obvious. I didn’t run into the back of him on purpose. I damaged my wing, I think he had a little bit of damage as well. Nothing that would have impacted on the race. It’s just not the way to do it. I think it was very clear. In the end we’re racing as men. I don’t have a radio to him. If I get a penalty, then we should both get a penalty.”

After their collision, the Ferrari driver received a 10-second penalty which he served in lap 33.

In that race, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel continued to race each other till the very end. Hamilton managed to secure fifth, as Vettel fended off the then-three-time world champion to hold on to fourth at the checkered flag.