Fresh insight offered into contentious Max Verstappen v Lewis Hamilton Hungary investigation

The stewards summoned Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton to appear before them after an on-track incident in Hungary.

Verstappen overtook Hamilton during the Hungarian Grand Prix, with his move into Turn 4 causing Hamilton to run wide into the escape area at Turn 4 at the top of the hill.

Steven Knowles opens up on stewards’ investigation

While the incident had appeared quite innocuous with no obvious contact between the cars, the stewards summoned both drivers on the grounds of Verstappen allegedly forcing Hamilton off the track.

However, in the post-race, Hamilton opted against appearing before the stewards as the FIA confirmed he had waived his right to a review – the reasoning for which was not detailed.

Verstappen was accompanied by Red Bull‘s acting head of sporting Steven Knowles, who shared his perspective on how the matter had unfolded as he appeared on an episode of the Inside Track podcast.

“Yeah, we did a bit,” he said when asked if he’d had to do much arguing on Verstappen’s behalf.

“I think it was an interesting one, because I think no one was really that sure what it was, other than it’s a manoeuvre into a corner that is pretty high-speed.

“You don’t generally see a lot of overtakes there. And it didn’t help that all the camera angles that were available at the time were pretty unhelpful.

“It’s just unfortunate timing, I think, from the director, because we normally have, the majority of the time, we have the camera from the roll hoop that sits above the driver’s helmet down, which gives you a really good view of what’s happening on both sides of the cars.

“But, on Max’s car, it went to the front wing camera, which is kind of behind the front wing, just at the exact wrong time.

“Also the heli[copter] shot, the cars happened to pass behind some trees at the critical moment as well.

“So I think no one was really entirely sure what happened, whether there was contact, or what – we couldn’t see any.

“Race Control looked at it, but probably couldn’t decide whether any action should be taken. It could have either been causing a collision or forcing Lewis off track.

“They were the possibilities. So that’s what we went into to talk about.”

The fact Hamilton didn’t show up to offer his take on things, or argue that Verstappen had done something wrong in his overtake, probably didn’t play much of a factor in the stewards deciding against taking any further action, Knowles explained.

“Tricky one. I think that’s maybe one for the stewards!” he said.

“It probably shouldn’t make much of a difference, I would say.

“I think the stewards are obviously very much driven by the facts of the incident.

“But, obviously, in some of these cases where it can be a bit 50/50 which way it’s going to go, if a driver feels strongly about it, and they’re in there making a case, then I’m sure that that can be a significant factor.

“Whether or not it would have made a difference, in this case, I’m not sure.”

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Knowles has taken on the responsibilities in regulatory understanding and oversight, taking on some of the duties once held by sporting director Jonathan Wheatley, who moved on to become Sauber’s new team boss this year.

With Knowles joking that there can be multiple incidents in a weekend requiring him to visit the stewards, it has led to him getting some good experience in the role at an early stage, having been with the team as a senior strategy engineer in recent years.

In situations where Knowles must plead his driver’s case to the stewards, diplomacy is a vital skill, and Knowles explained how he’s found himself evolving to suit his new role as he settles in.

“I think it’s important to be able to read the situation,” he said.

“Obviously, you often enter these conversations in the room, and particularly drivers are coming out of the car, and the adrenaline is still running high, and emotions are running high.

“So you do have to adapt your communication style and how you make your points around that a little bit.

“I guess the other end of the spectrum is we had the incident for ‘Towelgate’.

“Max had a towel in his car, and everyone was laughing before we even walked into the room. So it really depends a little bit on the situation.”

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