Lewis Hamilton accuses rival of ‘dirty driving’ as Miami Grand Prix woes get worse | F1 | Sport
Lewis Hamilton jokingly accused Pierre Gasly of ‘dirty driving’ after Formula One stars raced in Lego cars. Teams were given lifesized models of their respective teams’ vehicles to complete an exhibition lap ahead of the Miami Grand Prix.
Some drivers took the event more seriously than others. Max Verstappen revealed that some collisions had left Lego debris on the track, with staff needing to clean up quickly ahead of Sunday’s important race. Ferrari drivers Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were left unhappy with the Alpine team of Gasly and Jack Doohan. The seven-time world champion blamed Gasly for ‘dirty’ antics, but the Frenchman felt the behaviour of other drivers had been worse.
“That was the most fun drive we’ve ever had,” Hamilton told Sky Sports. He then turned to Pierre Gasly and joked: “Some dirty driving from this one here! It was great fun.”
Gasly then claimed innocence, pointing away from the camera and insisting: “The dirty ones are still over there!”
Verstappen also enjoyed the event, quipping: “They’ll have to sweep the track. There’s a lot of Lego debris on the track. A few cars collided out there on the way. It was a bit different, that’s for sure. I was a bit slow on top speed, so we slowly dropped back throughout the lap. I think it’s more important that they clean the track at the moment.”
The event took place due to a partnership between Formula One and Lego. Each car consisted of a remarkable 400,000 Lego bricks, weighing over 1,000 kilograms. Vehicles, which were made in a factory in Czechia, could reach speeds of 20 kilometres per hour.
Hamilton’s fun in the Lego car was much-needed respite amid another difficult weekend for Ferrari. After finishing P3 in Saturday’s sprint race, the 40-year-old failed to make Q3 in the later qualifying session for Sunday’s main race.
Afterwards, Hamilton suggested that there was a difference in opinion over whether to change the tyres. The former Mercedes star wanted to make the change before Q2, but he hinted that his team denied him that opportunity.
Asked whether a change should have been made before Q2, Hamilton told Sky Sports: “Yeah. We should have. I mean, it doesn’t make sense when you’re struggling so much not to put two new sets on, or utilise the sets. But that’s something we’ll take on when we have a chat back in the garage.
We’ll keep trying. We’re only six races in but we’re struggling big time. We’re trying our hardest not to make big set-up changes. But no matter what we do, it’s so inconsistent every time we go out. We’ve got problems with brakes, problems with instability. We’re just generally not quick enough. Just to get into Q3 is tough for us at the moment. Once you’re then on that back foot, it’s hard to pick up those points. Tomorrow’s going to be work hard but we’ll try again tomorrow. It’s the same thing for me, I’m used to it, it is what it is.”
