Two laps to go and Lewis Hamilton was holding on to 3rd place in the European Grand Prix in Valencia, when from behind came Pastor Maldonado who tried to overtake Hamilton. And then things went bad.
At the end of Turn 12, a place where nearly every driver locked up their brakes during the weekend, Maldonado was on the left side of Hamilton, going into the right-left turn, when suddenly the two cars made contact, and sent Hamilton´s car into the barriers and out of the race. Maldonado lost his front wing in the process, but were able to finish in 10th place.
Maldonado is now blaming Hamilton for the accident, saying Hamilton tried to run him off the track.
“He tried to put me off the track,” said Maldonado. “He didn’t leave any room for me to stay on and do the corner side by side. I jumped over the kerb and I couldn’t avoid the accident.”
At the time of the accident, the tyres on Hamilton´s car was completely shot, and he had just lost a position to Kim Raikkonen. Many observers believe that Hamilton should have moved over to allow Maldonado to pass.
“I don’t know why he drove like that,” continued Maldonado. “He was struggling too much with the tyres. He was completely lost and at that moment I was getting very good pace. He tried a very aggressive move on me.”
