Post-race footage of Lewis Hamilton approaching Max Verstappen after they clashed during the final stages of Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix has emerged.
Verstappen remains top of the F1 driver standings with 265 points but his title hopes took a slight dent in Budapest.
It was ultimately a race to forget at the Hungaroring for Red Bull’s record-breaking driver, who fell behind Lando Norris on the opening lap after running wide when he attempted an overtake.
Verstappen, who started behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and pole-sitter Norris, attempted to claim P2 but was forced to give the position back to his rival.
Later on in the race, the Dutchman was involved in another incident when he collided with Lewis Hamilton as he tried to overtake into turn one for third place.
After going off track a frustrated Verstappen was able to continue and finish fifth, while Hamilton took the final podium spot in third.
Verstappen would later claim Hamilton was at fault but the latter denied acting with hostility towards his rival and the Red Bull team.
Now, a 21-second clip of the Brit has emerged which shows him trying to “break the ice” with the defending champion.
As you can see from the footage below, Hamilton shakes hands with Verstappen before explaining his actions to a reporter.
“Nothing really [was said]. I just broke the ice, rather than walk past him,” he said.
“I thought it was the respectful thing. I have no problems. I think it was a racing incident, he sent it down the inside it didn’t work out and we move on.”
Hamilton did, however, aim a dig at Verstappen and the Red Bull team as he opened up about the incident alongside Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
“We passed a backmarker, I got to the braking zone and then Max appeared to overtake the car behind me, so I moved over to defend. I left enough room in the inside, but Max locked up,” Hamilton said.
“He was going a different trajectory to me. I was going towards the corner and he came shooting across. It felt like a racing incident.”
He added: “It’s easy to make mistakes like that. So I don’t feel there should be any hostility. But of course, from his side, there always will be.”