Vettel responds to Hamilton bluntly accusing Ferrari of deliberately hitting the Mercedes cars

Silverstone’s F1 race turned out to be a classic, thanks to its thrilling finale in which Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Räikkönen and Valtteri Bottas battled for the win. Most controversies arose from the first lap incident and the post-race comments made by Hamilton and Mercedes.

Räikkönen hit Hamilton in the first lap, causing the British driver to spin which dropped Hamilton to the end of the pack. Hamilton recovered well and finished second in the end, so the damage was far from what it could have been in worst case scenario. However, Hamilton showed that losing his home-event hurt badly as he accused Ferrari of deliberately crashing into the Mercedes cars.

Hamilton referred also to the French GP where Vettel hit Bottas and took the Finn (and himself) out of the contention for victory. Hamilton received support from Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who wondered if the incident in Silverstone was “deliberate or incompetence".

Vettel called the accusations “quite silly” and Räikkönen pointed out that racing incidents happen and that Ferrari drivers have been on the receiving end in the past.

Needless to say, the accusations from Hamilton and Mercedes are a sign of frustration: it was the home-race for both Hamilton and Mercedes (who operate from the UK). Hamilton’s brilliant pole set the table for a home win, but it was denied by the incident with Räikkönen.

It was a clear racing incident and Räikkönen took the blame for it after the race. It was also an understandable mistake. Räikkönen’s future in F1 is uncertain: the rumours tell Ferrari will promote Charles Leclerc to Vettel’s team-mate for next season. The Finn is either trying to convince Ferrari (or other teams) he still has what it takes, or if he has decided to retire, he is gunning for a victory in his final season.

Either way, Räikkönen is pushing to the limit and small mistakes are easy to make in such situation. In Silverstone, he locked his front wheel and Hamilton – who had dropped from first to third in the start – was in the wrong place in the wrong time. In terms of the French GP, Vettel knocked Bottas out but also destroyed his own front wing and race, so it clearly was not a planned scenario.

More than anything, the comments from Hamilton and Mercedes show how tense the championship battle is and how much pressure is on the drivers and the teams. The championship has now gone through three gruelling race weekends in a row and based on the heat of the midsummer race in Silverstone, the coming one-week break is much needed – and well deserved.