Max Verstappen Hits Back At Lewis Hamilton For Being Called Immature

Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen responded to Lewis Hamilton’s criticism after the Bahrain Grand Prix when the two collided, which resulted in the Dutchman retiring from the race.

The Mercedes driver used the word "d---head" in reference to Verstappen while viewing the footage of the collision after the race and his remarks post the race were quite scathing.

The 20-year-old started the race in the 16th place on the grid while Hamilton started the race in ninth place owing to a crash in qualifying and a five place grid penalty for a gear box change respectively. Verstappen made a blistering start made up a number of positions in the opening laps and was behind the Briton in no time.

The duo were coming down the start-finish straight when Verstappen pulled alongside the Mercedes and tried to pass him from the inside. He almost pulled off the pass after gaining control of the inside line, but pushed Hamilton too far out wide leaving him no room to maneuver, which resulted in the latter's front wing clipping the Red Bull’s left rear tire.

The Dutch driver suffered a tire puncture and while driving back to the pits damaged his diffuser, which resulted in retirement a few turns after he came out on fresh tires. Hamilton went on to finish in third place, but admitted after the race it could have been very costly had he suffered more severe damage to his car.

The four-time Formula 1 Drivers’ world champion labeled Verstappen immature and suggested his lack of respect for his rivals is costing his team valuable points in the championship. The Red Bull driver, however, believes Hamilton took the easy route and simply put the blame on the younger driver.

Verstappen also played out the whole event as a racing incident and cited last season’s Mexican Grand Prix when he made an aggressive move to take the lead from Vettel and Hamilton tried to follow, which resulted in the Ferrari and Mercedes colliding and eventually finishing outside the podium positions.

The three-time race winner hinted he might talk to Hamilton during the third race of the season at the Shanghai International Circuit in China on Sunday, but admits it is not necessary as it was purely a racing incident.

"It's quite simple and easy to blame the younger driver," Verstappen said Thursday talking about Hamilton’s reaction over their collision in Bahrain, as quoted on ESPN. "That's the only way I see it.”

"Those things happen and there's no need for me to change anything."

"I might have a talk with him if it's really necessary, but why should I change something? I don't think I did anything wrong in terms of my approach. I was just trying to overtake a car and I think it was a fair chance — I went for it,” he added.

“For example last year in Mexico it could have gone wrong as well, maybe for me or maybe for another car, as you can see in Mexico it did. It's racing, it's very simple. I don't understand why everyone is so on top of the topic, because these things happen in racing," Verstappen said.