Max Verstappen downplayed his shoulder bump against Lewis Hamilton at Imola

Max Verstappen has downplayed his shoulder bump facing Lewis Hamilton at Imola and it was nothing more than an unexpected incident. Verstappen, who lost to a team-mate in qualifying for the first time since 2018, P3.

Hamilton claimed pole position for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix with Sergio Perez qualifying second. Walking back to where he left his helmet after his post-qualifying interview, Verstappen crossed paths with Hamilton and the two bumped shoulders. While the Dutchman marched on, Hamilton turned back to have a glance at him.

“If I look at the shoulder bump they gave each other after qualifying at Imola, I think we can expect something this year.

“They are two men who do not want to be beaten by the other.

“Neither of them will let the other push them aside, especially if it will be more and more about the championship.”

Verstappen, though, says that’s reading too much into it, it was nothing more than an “accident”

Speaking to Dutch magazine Formule 1, he explained: “That was an accident.

“I thought I left enough room for him, but he was doing his suit up as I walked past him. There is absolutely nothing behind it.”

“Hopefully not. I think we both have a lot of respect for each other and we will race hard against each other. But I think that’s normal too. To be honest, I’m not so concerned with that. I always focus on myself and try to get the best out of myself. Of course, it looks like it’s between Lewis and me at the moment, but it’s still a long season and a lot of things can happen. Every race is different of course, but I think we know how to fight for the title,” he said. “As a team and myself. You have to try to score points every weekend, even if you don’t finish first. You can’t afford to make big mistakes, especially with the gap between the two teams being so small. I think this (avoiding mistakes) is the most important thing.” Verstappen said.