Battle between Hamilton and Verstappen: 'It was hard, ruthless racing'

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen battled each other hard for the lead at the British Grand Prix as soon as the lights went out, and their battle ended in a collision for the Dutchman, who had to retire from the race.

Mark Hughes wrote about the incident for The Race, and acknowledged that Verstappen and Hamilton treated the crowd in the English grandstand to a great fight, taking the risk that they could hit each other.

"It was hard, ruthless racing and given the speed of the corner and the possible consequences maybe there was too much resolute unbending will between the title duellists," noted Hughes. "But they’d each locked themselves and each other into these positions." It earned Hamilton a ten-second penalty which he served during his pit-stop.

The incident with Verstappen means the Dutch driver saw his lead over Hamilton evaporate. The seven-time world champion is only eight points behind his rival, making the next race in Hungary all the more interesting.