Dr Helmut Marko has poured fuel on the fire by suggesting Mercedes is to blame for revving up the controversy surrounding the Max Verstappen-Lewis Hamilton crash. Championship leader Verstappen retained his title lead at Monza last Sunday due to his collision with Mercedes’ Hamilton in the first chicane. Wolff’s suggestion is that it is only Hamilton who tries to avoid collisions between the pair as they battle for the 2021 world championship. “The first lap showed what both drivers can do to avoid an accident – if one is a bit tough, the other can avoid him,” added Wolff. But fellow Austrian Marko thinks both Wolff and Hamilton are guilty of revving up the affair with their “stories”. “All the stories surrounding this were brought up by Mercedes,” the 78-year-old Austrian insists. “Verstappen had already got out of his car when Hamilton tried to get his car out of the gravel.

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