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Lewis Hamilton called ‘disrespectful’ by Max Verstappen after crash at British Grand Prix

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VideoFormula 1: Lewis Hamilton makes contact with Max Verstappen sending the Red Bull driver crashing out of the British Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton has roared back from a first-lap incident that sent championship leader Max Verstappen to the hospital to win the British Grand Prix, while Daniel Ricciardo had his best result of the year.

Hamilton also overcame a 10-second penalty on Sunday to reignite his title defence with his record-extending eighth Silverstone triumph.

The seven-time world champion won at his home track to snap a run of five races without a victory and slash the gap to Verstappen at the top of the drivers’ championship from 33 points to eight.

“Did I think that we would ever be back in the title fight? I prayed and hoped for it but I thought that it would be a long slog to try and regain any of the points,” Hamilton said.

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This season’s title battle boiled over on one of the hottest days of the year, in front of 140,000 fans at a packed Silverstone, with the terrifying incident at 290km/h that resulted in the race being red-flagged and Hamilton given a penalty.

The 23-year-old Verstappen was left fuming.

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“Glad I’m ok. Very disappointed with being taken out like this,” Verstappen posted on Twitter.

“The penalty given does not help us and doesn’t do justice to the dangerous move Lewis made on track.

“Watching the celebrations while still in hospital is disrespectful and unsportsmanlike behavior but we move on.”

Verstappen left a Coventry hospital later on Sunday.

“Cleared from the hospital after all the checks were ok. Thank you to everyone for all the nice messages and best wishes,” the Dutch ace tweeted.

Hamilton dropped from second to fifth as he served his penalty but he managed to chase down Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc with just two laps to go - on the same corner where he had tangled with Verstappen.

Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas was third third with McLaren’s Lando Norris fourth, one spot ahead of his Australian teammate Ricciardo.

Verstappen crashed out of the race after clashing with Hamilton, with the Dutchman spinning hard into a barrier with an impact which registered at 51G.

Wobbly as he climbed from his car, Verstappen was initially seen in the Silverstone medical centre but then transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.

“With Max, you know he’s very aggressive. And then today, I mean I was fully alongside him, and I didn’t have enough space,” Hamilton said after the race.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was critical of Hamilton’s driving.

“He’s (Hamilton) a world champion, he shouldn’t be making manoeuvres like that. It’s unacceptable... For me, that’s a hollow victory,” he said.

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