Verstappen recalls Hamilton’s Baku blunder: ‘The phone was like buzzing…’

Verstappen was on course for the win in Baku two years ago when he suffered a rear tyre blowout, crashing out of the race in frightening fashion.

The race was subsequently red-flagged, with Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez inheriting the lead ahead of Hamilton - Verstappen’s main rival at the time.

As the race restarted, it looked like Hamilton would take the lead into Turn 1, powering past Perez.

Hamilton locked-up and dropped to the back of the field, surrendering the lead and 25 crucial points.

It soon transpired afterwards that Hamilton had accidentally pressed a button on his steering wheel that dramatically moved the brake bias forwards hence his mistake.

In a clip posted on Red Bull Racing’s TikTok account, Verstappen recalled hearing what happened at the end of the race, even adding his own amusing sound effects. 

“And then I hear the restart,” he said. “All the cars were [engine noise]. At one point I heard the guys brake, and I could hear a [high-pitched squeal] and then everyone was like ‘Yeah!’ like this.

“I think Gemma [Lusty, Red Bull press officer] was with me and the phone was like [buzzing noise], like a hundred messages.

“I was like ‘what happened, what happened?’ and then you [Perez] were back in the lead but still I didn’t know about your issues at the time.”

It proved to be a crucial race in the title battle as Hamilton would go on to lose to Verstappen by eight points.