Red Bull successfully has asked for a review of the incident at Silverstone between Formula One points leader Max Verstappen and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton.
The FIA will hear from Red Bull via video conference Thursday ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. The team has been fuming since contact between Verstappen and Hamilton on the first lap of the British Grand Prix caused Verstappen to crash hard into a barrier and sent the Dutchman briefly to the hospital for evaluation.
Red Bull accused Hamilton of making a “desperate” move to edge ahead of his rival on the first lap because the reigning champion knew getting ahead of Verstappen at the start was his only chance to win on his home track and tighten the championship race.
Hamilton was given a 10-second penalty for the incident but recovered to win for the first time in six races. He dropped from second to fifth after he served his penalty, picked up two spots when he returned to the track and then Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas was ordered to move out of Hamilton’s way.
It gave him 11 laps to chase down leader Charles Leclerc in a Ferrari, and Hamilton made the pass for the win with just two laps to go — and on the same corner where he had tangled with Verstappen. The British driver was cheered on to his eighth career victory at Silverstone by the passionate home fans, who also gave him a standing ovation.
It snapped a five-race winning streak for Red Bull and cut Verstappen’s lead in the title fight from 33 points to eight.
Verstappen has five wins to Hamilton’s four this season, and the Red Bull team seems to at last have the pace to challenge Mercedes.
Red Bull must appear by video conference with its team manager and up to two other witnesses, according to the summons FIA issued Tuesday.
