F1 OPINION | PALMER: The Hamilton-Verstappen clash polarised opinion, but I believe it was a racing incident – here’s why

Their rivalry had been fierce but just about respectful on track until Silverstone, but finally it boiled over in a fairly predictable manner, fueled by a festival atmosphere from a vocal British crowd and a new weekend format.

Before Silverstone we had seen the two go wheel-to-wheel at Imola, Portimao and Barcelona. Both have been very aggressive, but generally Verstappen had been the more aggressive of the two, particularly in Barcelona, lunging in on Hamilton in a risky first-corner move.

At Imola and Barcelona Verstappen came out on top, and again in Portimao, before Hamilton re-passed him and ushered him wide at Turn 3.  —read more—