F1 Gossip: Hamilton calls Verstappen after crash, Saudi Arabia season finale?

- Lewis Hamilton has reached out to Max Verstappen to discuss their controversial British Grand Prix collision, according to Ziggo pitlane reporter Jack Plooij.

Asked if Hamilton had reached out to Verstappen, Plooij, who was speaking as a guest on the F1 Nation Podcast, replied: “Yes, as far as I heard, he phoned him.

“The hardest issue on that Sunday was that Lewis was celebrating and Max was in the hospital. That hurt the Verstappen’s too much. Lewis was in front of me and I said ‘you know Max is in the hospital’ and then he looked to his left where Rosa  [press officer] was standing and I had a little bit of a sense that maybe Lewis wasn’t exactly informed of how the situation was in that moment.

“I don’t know for sure, but that makes sense. Lewis is not the kind of guy to do this, but the people blame him. That’s not the guy I know.”

Speaking about Verstappen’s view of the reaction to the crash, Plooij added: “Max is not impressed by all the stuff surrounding it. He only wants to beat Lewis fair and square on track. He has nothing to do with all these people who are shouting all these other things. He doesn‘t want to do any of that.

“I cannot speak for Lewis, but I know that Max is going to be acting normal, like he always does. He doesn’t change. He’s more motivated, because of the loss of points, but he’s not motivated by the crash itself. He’s not a revenge type. He only wants to beat Lewis in Hungary.”

- Meanwhile, 2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button believes Hamilton and Verstappen will continue to have more “feisty” battles with the “gloves off” in the 2021 title fight (Sky Sports) 

- The 2021 F1 season could conclude with a Saudi Arabia sprint event, with the Jeddah circuit in line for a potential weekend swap with Abu Dhabi, which was originally planned to be the season finale (RaceFans) 

- Two pre-season tests for the 2022 season are set to take place in Barcelona and Bahrain ahead of a potential double-header to kick off F1’s new era in the Middle East. Bahrain is likely to host the curtain-raiser, followed by a race in Saudi Arabia (Auto Motor und Sport) 

- Honda F1 technical boss Toyoharu Tanabe says its success with Red Bull this season has been built on the Japanese company’s previous failures (BBC Sport) 

- Red Bull reserve driver Alex Albon has admitted he cannot afford to spend a second year on the sidelines if he is to return to the F1 grid  on a full-time basis (F1.com)