After a crash fueled the Mercedes-Red Bull rivalry at Silverstone, the qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix brought more drama for the two teams yesterday. Lewis Hamilton (intentionally, according to his critics) slowed down, which ruined Max Verstappen’s chances at securing the pole position. In the end, the two Mercedes drivers made the front row, with Valtteri Bottas in P2.

As expected, ex-F1 drivers pitched in to give their thoughts on the incident. Romain Grosjean took to Twitter, insinuating that Mercedes had done it on purpose. However, he walked back on his words after Hamilton responded to his comments.

Grosjean clears his statements made about Mercedes

The former Haas driver was one of the first to point out that Hamilton slowing down intentionally wouldn’t go down as good sportsmanship in the F1 paddock.

He said on Twitter, “If that was made on purpose, it’s not pretty…”

The seven-time world champion was quick to respond to Haas driver shortly after the quali session. He wasn’t pleased by the statements made by Grosjean, stating that if he was still on the grid, he would understand better.

He fired back, “ I don’t make any tactical plays. We have the fastest car. Those who give comments like that have no idea what’s going on. Which also explains why they are not here.”

However, Grosjean saw the timesheet later on and then clarified his comments about the Silver Arrows.

He said, “Thanks for that . Then there is no debate. Lewis and Mercedes made again an incredible job in quali. Let’s have a good race tomorrow with different tires strategy at the front.”

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Hamilton had hit back at Grosjean about team tactics

The qualifying session was certainly not an easy one for the Briton. As he went for the trackside interview after securing pole position, he was met with booing from the fans in the stand.

However, Hamilton is looking to block out the noise and focus on taking the checkered flag in Budapest on Sunday. In fact, he stated that he uses negative energy like this to boost himself instead of taking a hit on his confidence.

And the Brit will need everything he has in him, for he is well aware that both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez will throw everything at him to win the race.

We are just a few hours away from being lights out at the Hungaroring. Who do you think will take victory in the eleventh round of the championship? Will it be the Silver Arrows? Or Verstappen & Co will bounce back to grab another win this season?

Let us know your predictions in the comments below.

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