"It’s the age gap, it’s a generational thing"- Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen 'don't have a connection,' feels former F1 driver

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen could be forced to unite in an act against the outrage caused by the factions of fans on either side. At the F1 Austrian GP and the F1 British GP, both drivers were subject to boos from both sides of the fans. Moreover, things went overboard when Lewis Hamilton's crash in Q3 received massive applause from the fans in the grandstand.

David Coulthard, the former McLaren and Red Bull driver, feels that Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have different personalities. However, when it comes to something like this, an act of unity might ease tensions to a huge extent.

“I think it’s the age gap. It’s a generational thing. Lewis [Hamilton] and Max [Verstappen] just don’t have a connection that is there with Charles [Leclerc] and Carlos [Sainz] and Lando [Norris] and George [Russell], all these guys of a generation. And that maybe doesn’t seem like much, 10 or 11 years or whatever the age gap is, but in a sport, that’s more than a generation."

He added:

“I actually would like to see them both get their arms around each other’s shoulders and make a statement to the fans of Formula 1, because we heard some booing for Max at Silverstone. I really don’t feel comfortable with that in Formula 1. I’m all for who you want to support, but let’s be sporting, let’s make this something which is respectful.”

Lewis Hamilton had lashed out at the fans for cheering his crash in Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton did not appreciate the applause he received when he crashed in Q3 and lashed out at the fans who cheered over the incident. The Mercedes driver admitted that he had not suffered any injuries but in such circumstances, a driver could be seriously hurt and cheering is just not the right thing to do.

"I didn’t hear them cheering. I was going through a bunch of stuff in the crash. To hear it afterwards, I don’t agree or condone that. A driver could be in hospital and you are going to cheer that?"

“It’s just mind-blowing that people would do that, knowing how dangerous our sport is. I’m grateful that I wasn’t in hospital and I wasn’t heavily injured.”

Ironically though, when Hamilton scored a podium and received his trophy on the podium, he did not get booed by the crowd.