Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has accused Max Verstappen of launching a "revenge foul" on Lewis Hamilton during the Austrian Grand Prix Sprint Shootout. The duo were embroiled in a fierce rivalry for the 2021 F1 World Championship, but with the Silver Arrows falling off the pace at the start of the sport's newest technical regulatory era, there has been little chance of a reignition. Verstappen was left frustrated at being blocked by Hamilton into the final corner at the Red Bull Ring during the Shootout - the qualifying session that sets the grid for the Sprint - and subsequently drove past the Briton before parking his RB19 on the exit of Turn 1. This scuppered Hamilton's efforts to overcome his previous deleted lap, leaving the seven-time World Champion in only 18th.
Our mistake
Hamilton eventually finished 10th in the Sprint to leave Saturday pointless, though he has the chance to score from fifth on the grid in the main event. Addressing the incident with Verstappen, Wolff told media, including RacingNews365.com : "The mistake happened on our side. "The communication between us and Lewis didn't give him the right information to get out of Max's way. "No one wants to be in anybody's way because if you impede, you get penalised. "On the other side, Turn 1 was a revenge foul, it was just to make sure his lap was ruined. So one was not intentional, the other was intentional. "But who cares? We looked at it but it doesn't change our race, but they will talk about it in the drivers' briefing next week."
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