Lewis Hamilton responds to Max Verstappen 'clear penalty' call

Lewis Hamilton has responded to Max Verstappen's belief that their intense Austrian Grand Prix battle warranted a "clear penalty".

The seven-time world champion started third at the Red Bull Ring but moved into second early on after overtaking Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc.

However, Hamilton's pace quickly faded, with Ferrari having struggled to look after its tyres, allowing Verstappen to close rapidly.

It resulted in a multi-lap scrap between the two champions, featuring a flurry of position changes, dive bombs and excellent wheel-to-wheel racing.

Verstappen made his first move at Turn 3 on lap 11, diving to the inside of Hamilton before the latter cut back and regained second at Turn 4.

The pair then went side by side, with Verstappen brushing the gravel on the exit of Turn 6 after running out of room on the inside.

It prompted an immediate radio message from the Dutchman to Red Bull, declaring that it was a "clear penalty" for Hamilton.

While the incident was noted by the stewards, no further action was taken. Verstappen soon made the move stick before going on to finish second, while Hamilton continued to fall back and had to settle for fifth.

Asked what he thought of the battle, Hamilton initially told select media, including RacingNews365: "It was great. Good run, good fun."

Hamilton insisted it was nothing more than good racing and claimed that, had he been in Verstappen's position, he would have backed out.

When informed that Verstappen called for Hamilton to be penalised, the 41-year-old quickly replied: "He went off the outside. 

"You don’t expect to go around the outside of a champion. I wouldn’t expect to go around the outside of him there and hold the line. 

"So he was behind at the apex, and therefore he should have backed out."