Declaring their clash to have been a racing incident, Lewis Hamilton admits that it is unlikely that his nemesis will see it that way.

Not for the first time, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton found themselves on the same piece of asphalt as they battled for position.

Desperate to get past the Mercedes in order to take on the McLarens, the Dutchman made a lunge into Turn 1 that saw them touch, causing the Red Bull to launch into the air before crashing down.

Though both were able to continue, Verstappen had not only lost third to his great rival but fourth to Charles Leclerc.

The Dutchman's mood was not helped when, after complaining that Hamilton had moved under braking, he was told he was being "childish", and though the stewards subsequently deemed that the Mercedes driver "could have done
more to avoid the collision" and opted to take no further action, it is unlikely Verstappen will forget.

"From what I can remember, I obviously, we passed a backmarker," said the seven-time world champion. "I got to the braking zone and then Max appeared to overtake the car behind me, so I moved over to defend.

"I left enough room in the inside, but Max locked up and he was going a different trajectory to me. I was going towards around the corner and he came shooting across.

"It felt like a racing incident and it's easy to make mistakes like that," he admitted. "I don't feel there should be any hostility, but of course, from his side, there always will be."

Asked if prior to the race he had envisaged fighting with Verstappen, Hamilton said: "No, I think out of pure pace, we weren't. Unfortunately, we're still not in hot conditions, particularly, so you saw in Austria and here, we're not able to keep up with these guys. But in stint one, I was really surprised to see that I was able to hold on to Max and I wasn't even having to push too hard to stay around a second behind him.

"So I thought at that point that maybe I was in for a chance of at least fighting for that place, but then in the second stint, it was a bit of a disaster. It didn't feel good and the true pace of the car started to show, I think, on those tyres.

"But we obviously got the undercut and track position is clearly key on this track. And I think that really ultimately made the difference.

"It was a tough race today and I definitely didn't think I would be having 200 podiums, but what have I done, 347 races? So not too bad a score," he laughed. "But I couldn't have done it without all those great people that I've worked with in both these teams."

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