The FIA has confirmed race officials did not look at footage from Max Verstappen’s on-board camera before announcing his fiery incident with Lewis Hamilton in Brazil would not be investigated.
The wheel to wheel tussle in Monday’s Brazil Grand Prix left the Formula 1 world with its heart in its mouth as the two world championship rivals nearly made contact on Lap 48 at Turn 4.
Hamilton produced one of the greatest drives in recent memory to win the Brazil Grand Prix on Monday morning, but the big talking point was the moment his rivalry with Verstappen almost exploded.
More than 24 hours after the race was won, the footage from Verstappen’s Red Bull is still yet to see the light of day.
Conspiracy theories surrounding the missing footage are growing louder following a Daily Mail report Mercedes is still considering launching an official protest of the decision not to penalise the 24-year-old.
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Hamilton is now 14 points behind Verstappen — but the margin could easily have been even further reduced if action had been taken against Verstappen.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said after the race it was “laughable” that Verstappen avoided any penalty for the moment the Red Bull star appeared to run Hamilton off the track.
Formula 1 commentators on Sky Sports unanimously agreed action should have been taken against Verstappen after he took a shallow line into Turn 4 when Hamilton had already passed him entering the corner and controlled the racing line. Verstappen didn’t give an inch.
Sky Sports first revealed after the race the broadcaster was yet to download the footage from Verstappen’s Red Bull that would have revealed his dashboard and steering wheel movement throughout the incident.
Sky sports technical analyst Anthony Davidson said after the race available camera angles of the incident appear to show Verstappen failing to attempt to steer his car towards the apex of the turn — a clear suggestion Verstappen deliberately forced Hamilton off the track.
He said footage from Verstappen’s on-board camera would be crucial to see if Verstappen’s steering wheel was ever in a position that would have allowed the Dutch driver to make the hard turn.
Wolff also said he would like to see the on-board footage from Verstappen’s Red Bull.
The FIA had ruled the near-collision was a “racing incident” that needed no further investigation — prompting scorn from Lewis Hamilton over the team radio.
F1 race director Michael Masi has now confirmed the key missing footage has still not been seen by race officials.
He said it is “only the cameras that were broadcast” that officials had access to in investigating the incident.
“The forward facing, the 360, there’s all of the camera angles that we don’t get live that will be downloaded and we’ll have a look at them post-race,” he said.
“It hasn’t been obtained yet. It’s been requested.”
He conceded the footage from Verstappen’s Red Bull could be a “smoking gun”.
“Could be, absolutely. Possibly. But no, we didn’t have access to it,” he said.
“And obviously, it’s being downloaded. And once the commercial rights holder supplies it, we’ll have a look.”
Hamilton had earlier called the incident “crazy” when first told of the incident was being looked at by stewards. It took him 11 more laps before he got the move to stick on Lap 59.
Davidson said footage of Verstappen’s dash could easily have resulted in the FIA taking action against Verstappen.
“You always need in these situations other camera angles. The FIA have more camera angles than we do, but they’re missing this critical on-board shot,” he said.
“I think if they had that on-board shot it’s a very different story today.”
He said broadcast cameras appeared to show Verstappen not making enough effort to make the turn.
“Usually what you’d be looking for is a telltale sign like a lock-up on the inside front tyre,” he said.
“A sign that the driver is right at the adhesion of grip, and the steering angle being forced into the car. And the other thing you’re looking for is, is the driver on the apex — is the driver doing everything to make the corner.
“I can’t see that much steering angle going into the car. For me, it’s very well done by Max, cramping him off the road. But I’m not seeing enough effort being put into the car to try and make the corner.”
Former F1 driver Paul di Resta said on Sky Sports after the race he at least expected Verstappen to be ordered to give the position back to Hamilton.
Former driver Johnny Herbert also said he anticipated a five-second penalty being handed down.
It’s why Wolff was so unhappy after the race, describing Verstappen’s move as “over the line”.
“It was really wrong defence from Max, absolutely an inch over the limit, but he needed to do that to defend,” he said.
“Lewis just managed it even more brilliantly by avoiding the contact and end the race that way.
“But that was just over the line, it should have been a five-second penalty at least. Probably Max knew that. Just brushing it under the carpet, it’s just the tip of the iceberg.
“It’s just laughable.”
A five second penalty would have seen Verstappen finish third behind Mercedes’ driver Valtteri Bottas, who was three seconds behind the Dutch driver as they crossed the line.
That would have cut Verstappen’s lead to just 11 championship points with three races remaining.
Hamilton was also suspicious after the race, suggesting the decision not to take action against Verstappen was pre-ordained.
“When they said they were going to investigate, I just knew the decision they were going to come to, whether it was right or wrong,” said Hamilton to Sky Sports.
“I didn’t let it phase me, I just kept racing.”
It was just one of the many moments of drama throughout the weekend, which began with Hamilton taking a grid penalty for introducing a new engine.
After his car’s rear wing was found to have violated technical rules by 0.2mm, Hamilton started Sunday’s sprint race from last, and also started Monday’s grand prix from 10th as a result of his earlier grid penalty.
Near-perfect as Hamilton was, he was still fined $9000 for undoing his safety belt on his victory lap in breach of the rules to accept a Brazilian flag from a track marshall.
Qatar makes its F1 debut as host of next Sunday’s latest fix of the sport’s refreshingly exciting circuit drama followed by Saudi Arabia and the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in mid-December.