In the hot duel between the predecessor and successor, the waves can go up: Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton do not give anything in the last round of the Miami Grand Prix, drive each other in the car in the best touring car manner shortly before the finish line-with the better end for Hamilton, who keeps the nose ahead and takes eight to finish.
Despite his “divebomb” from far back and the hard action, Sainz complains directly on the radio: “He moved a bit on the brakes.” Apparently also for the race management reason enough to examine the incident after the end of the race – but without consequences: No further measures, the Stewards judgment is in the opinion of the images and data.
Reason: “Auto 55 tried an overtaking maneuver on the inside of Auto 44 in curve 17, with both vehicles collided at the apex. The sports commissioners noted that both drivers contributed to the incident, since Auto 55 did not clear in a position in order to be entitled to the ideal line in accordance with the guidelines for driving behavior.”
But the regular keepers do not see Hamilton in no way innocent: “At the same time, Auto 44 previously entered the curve than usual and thereby impaired the driver of Auto 55 in his attempt. None of the two drivers is granted the main debt at the collision” – which is why there were no further sanctions.
Sainz: “If you take the rule book very carefully …”
Sainz explains after the race in relation to the scene with Hamilton: “I think he obviously did his best to defend himself. Of course, I still had something in the last curve, but he moved immediately when he saw that I was going – that led to a collision,” Sainz is not exactly happy about the incident, “in my opinion is quite typical”.
It is clear to the Spaniard: “If you take the rule book very carefully, he shouldn’t have moved so much – but in the last round it sometimes runs that way.” Alone: Sainz gets clear contradictions in the matter after the race of “Sky” expert Ralf Schumacher.
When viewing the pictures, the ex-formula 1 pilot is surprised: “I don’t know what Sainz wanted at the end,” says Schumacher, who adds: “This is really something where I have to say: You don’t do it, in the last round, drive into the car like this.” Sainz is “far too late on the brake,” says Schumacher: “[Ich] Don’t even know where he wanted to go there. Of course that doesn’t belong. “
According to the German, however, the extra motivation against his ex-employer and the man who repressed him at Scuderia should also play a role: “On the one hand, he is very self-contained on the one hand,” says Schumacher, who still believes: “But it is a bit of eaten up of ambition and of course he doesn’t like that at all. And of course he wanted to overtake his old Ferrari again.”