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Verstappen: No 'hard feelings' over Hamilton Silverstone clash

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton will return to Silverstone this weekend, one year on from their controversial collision at the 2021 British Grand Prix. Despite this, Verstappen feels positive about racing at the venue again.

Max Verstappen insists he has no "hard feelings" over his infamous collision with Lewis Hamilton at the 2021 British Grand Prix, ahead of F1's return to Silverstone this weekend. Verstappen and Hamilton made contact on the opening lap of the race, resulting in Verstappen crashing at high-speed at Copse. The Dutchman was taken to hospital for precautionary checks, while Hamilton was handed a 10-second time penalty for the collision, though still went on to win the race. It was an incident that proved controversial, and led to various comments being made by Red Bull and Mercedes.

Verstappen able to "put these things aside"

Ahead of the 2022 event at Silverstone, Verstappen is again at the forefront of the title battle, though on this occasion does not have Hamilton as his main competition. Memories of the crash are not bothering the reigning World Champion, and he is instead looking forward to racing at the venue again. "Of course, the crash wasn't nice, but I love the track," Verstappen told GP Racing . "I love going there. It's [a] really good atmosphere with Formula 1, and we're going really quick around there. "So I don't have any hard feelings. And I also think very easily I can put these things aside. Of course, it wasn't nice what happened, but at the end of the day, you deal with it. "It wasn't a nice impact for me personally, but we go out there again and try to win of course."

No concerns about crowd reaction for Verstappen

Hamilton generally garners a large amount of crowd support at Silverstone, but Verstappen is not concerned about the sort of reception he might receive himself. "The good thing is, once we jump in the car with the helmet on, you don't hear anything," the Red Bull driver added. "And they love motorsport. I mean, it’s such a big history in England in general, right?" Verstappen currently leads the Drivers' standings by 46 points from teammate Sergio Perez.

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