Max Verstappen has no regrets over Lewis Hamilton collision

Max Verstappen said he would not hesitate to collide with Lewis Hamilton again after the rivals crashed at Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix.

Hamilton and Verstappen tangled following a safety car re-start on the seventh lap in Interlagos as they duelled for second place through the Senna Esses.

Hamilton recovered to finish runner-up – behind team-mate George Russell who took his maiden win – while Verstappen, who was forced to stop for repairs in his Red Bull, finished sixth.

The double world champion was deemed at fault for the collision by the stewards and hit with a five-second penalty.

After the race, Hamilton, who was involved in a number of altercations with Verstappen during last season’s toxic title battle, said: “What can I say? You know how it is with Max.”

Verstappen responded: “I was not upset by the penalty, but if you ask me would I do it again? Absolutely.

“I went round the outside in turn one, and I just felt it as soon as I was going next to him that he had no intention to leave me space, and I was like, ‘Okay if you are not going to leave me space then we will just collide’.

Max Verstappen said Lewis Hamilton did not leave him enough room (Marcelo Chello/AP)

“I thought after last year, we could forget about it and finally race. But you feel it with a driver – if he is going to leave you space or not – and there was zero intention to leave me space.”

Following an investigation, Formula One’s governing body, the FIA, said: “The stewards determined that Verstappen attempted to pass Hamilton on the outside of turn one by braking very late.

“He did not complete the pass in turn one and his excess speed compromised his entry into turn two, at which point he made contact with Hamilton.

“While the stewards recognise that Hamilton could possibly have given a little more room at the apex of turn two, the stewards determined that Verstappen was predominantly at fault.”