Red Bull evidence will put British GP crash in ‘different light’

Title rivals Verstappen and Hamilton collided while fighting for the lead of the race at Copse on the opening lap of the British Grand Prix two weeks ago, resulting in a 51G crash for Red Bull driver Verstappen.

Hamilton was hit with a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision, but recovered to win the race and reduce Verstappen’s championship lead to eight points.

But Red Bull has exercised its right to review the incident under the FIA International Sporting Code after its F1 bosses were left unhappy by the sanction given to Hamilton, saying it was too lenient.

Cases can be reviewed if a “significant and relevant new element” of evidence is brought to light at the hearing, which will take place on Thursday afternoon in Hungary ahead of this weekend’s grand prix.

Red Bull advisor Marko told RTL on Wednesday that the team would use the hearing to “bring new facts that were not available to us at the time of the race interruption or when the whole thing was dealt with”, revealing its primary focus had been on Verstappen’s condition at that time.

Verstappen walked away from the accident, but was left sore and bruised, and was taken to hospital as a precaution before being discharged following MRI and CT scans.

"Those facts will be brought forward on Thursday, and we hope that that will [result in] a reassessment, because we still think that this penalty was too lenient for Hamilton,” Marko said.

The debate over who was at fault for the incident and the severity of the penalty awarded has been fierce in F1 since the accident happened.

Marko claimed that Red Bull’s “completely different opinion” would be “proven with footage”, adding: “The crux of the matter is that we bring new evidence, new facts. But I can't reveal these details.”

Marko said in the immediate aftermath of Verstappen’s accident that Hamilton should be banned for the next race, and was hopeful the new evidence Red Bull would bring forward would result in the incident being looked at differently. 

Asked what penalty would be fitting for Hamilton, Marko replied: “A penalty that would have prevented a victory would be appropriate.

“So drive-through or a ban at the next race, something along those lines.

“But that's up to the stewards. First of all, we are very happy that this reopening has happened. And we will now see how they judge it.

“But I think that what we bring forward will put it in a slightly different light.”