Lewis Hamilton put up no fight against Nico Hulkenberg in Barcelona, on the other hand, Max Verstappen put up too much of a fight against George Russell.
Former F1 driver Sebastien Buemi has revealed that he was “surprised” by Lewis Hamilton not defending from Nico Hulkenberg in Barcelona, whilst Max Verstappen refused to “give up” against George Russell.
The closing laps of the Spanish Grand Prix threw up multiple shocks, the first of which being Verstappen driving into the side of Russell at Turn 5.
Verstappen was on slower tyres and was also told by Red Bull to let Russell past, following an incident three laps prior with the Mercedes driver. He opted against returning the position, before driving into the Briton.
It resulted in a 10-second time penalty and three penalty points, putting the Dutchman on the brink of a race ban.
Whilst Verstappen refused to give up, Stake F1’s Hulkenberg breezed past Hamilton on the run into the first corner, having opted against defending the inside line.
Opting against defending against Hulkenberg cost Hamilton a top five finish, whilst Verstappen’s aggressive actions saw him demoted to 10th.
When asked on the RacingNews365 podcast what he made of the Red Bull driver’s clash with Russell, Buemi answered: “Yeah, of course, everyone has a different view. He was on the hard tyres, it was obviously very difficult.
“He had that moment coming out of the last corner. We all know Max, he fights, he’s not just going to give up like that. On the other hand, I got a bit surprised when Lewis got overtaken by Hulkenberg.
“I thought, looking from the outside again, I would have thought he would close the door, but somehow he didn’t.
“And, I mean, Max, when you watch, he’s not going to give up, he’s going to fight very hard. So, of course, where is the limit is always difficult, but within that he’s not going to give up.”