No story behind crash Verstappen and Hamilton: 'Was a normal fight'.

Not a sprint, but a marathon

During the FIA press conference Hamilton is asked if there is a story behind the accident with Verstappen, but according to the Briton, there is none: "I think it’s a normal battle. I think I’ve generally… when I was younger, of course, I was probably as aggressive – maybe actually not as aggressive as Max is, but I was pretty aggressive as a youngster."

"I think now, I’m a lot older now and I know it’s a marathon not a sprint and so I think I have a better view in how I approach my racing," Hamilton continued. The Mercedes driver admits Verstappen is difficult to overtake when he has free air.

Hamilton expected to get few chances

"Once he’s [Verstappen] out in the clear, they’re too fast so when an opportunity comes, I’ve got to try and take it, that’s what we’re out there doing, and racing, and this one moment, I got a great exit out of Turn 7 and I was really happy with the dummy that I was able to go to the left and then go to the inside and get up that gap," he added. 

"Fortunately, he wasn’t able to close it. But unfortunately, the aggression stayed from his side and we collided. It’s unfortunate but as Charles said it’s a racing incident, these things happen," Hamilton concluded. The Briton was handed a ten-second penalty after the incident.