Lewis Hamilton Vs Max Verstappen has been at each other’s throats since the 2021 season. However, because of Mercedes’ shortcomings and Red Bull’s perfect interpretation of the 2022 regulations, the two failed to lock horns on the tracks again. Most would assume the rivalry is dead now that there is a clear and obvious gap. However, we often see glimpses of the two go at each other every opportunity they get. In fact, we saw a bit of revengeful play during the SQ1 in Austria from Verstappen. There were definitely ill intentions in Verstappen’s actions toward his old for. However, even though Toto Wolff labeled Verstappen’s actions as “revenge foul”, he quickly assumed the blame.

Verstappen’s impeding of Hamilton during SQ1 saw him lose precious seconds and eventually saw him not qualify for SQ2. Initially, all the blame was put on the Red Bull man. However, speaking to the media, as quoted by Sky Sports, Wolff assumed the blame and revealed the team caused this error.

“The mistake happened on our side,” confessed Toto Wolff. “The communication between us and Lewis didn’t give him the right information to get out of Max’s way. On the other side, Turn 1 was a revenge foul (by Verstappen). It was just to make sure that his (Hamilton’s) lap was ruined.”

“So one was not intentional, the other one was intentional – but who cares? But I think they’re going to talk about it at the drivers’ briefing next week,” added Wolff.

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The Mercedes boss might’ve accepted the blame, but he is not forgetting this revengeful act from Verstappen. Although, despite the poor qualifying result, Hamilton’s hearty effort in the Sprint race was something to cheer about.

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The Brit suffered an SQ1 exit all because of Mercedes’s poor communication and carelessness. The fans were extremely unhappy with this scenario. However, surprisingly, Wolff publicly claimed “The car had pace, everything is fine!” A surprising claim, especially after the debacle. However, the result of the Sprint race tells us the Mercedes boss was, in fact, right. F1 expert Peter Windsor seconded those claims as well.

During the practice session, Hamilton’s W14 was the third-fastest car on the track. In fact, the car was performing brilliantly in the long run. Windsor said, “Lewis Hamilton if he’s a bit depressed about his grid position should be delighted with how good that car was on the long run today. The Mercedes seems to be really good with fuel in the car.”

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Only the race can tell us how true these comments will turn out to be. However, after what we witnessed in the Sprint race, there might still be hope for Hamilton.