Red Bull Racing on Monday condemned the racist abuse of Mercedes' driver Lewis Hamilton and said those responsible should be held accountable.
Hamilton was subjected to racist abuse on social media after he collided with Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen on the race track in the first lap of the British Grand Prix.
"While we may be fierce rivals on-track, we are all united against racism. We condemn racist abuse of any kind towards our team, our competitors and our fans," Red Bull Racing said in a statement.
"As a team, we are disgusted and saddened to witness the racist abuse Lewis endured yesterday on social media after the collision with Max. There is never any excuse for it, there is certainly no place for it in our sport and those responsible should be held accountable," it added.
Hamilton and Verstappen had sparred spectacularly throughout the first half lap of the Grand Prix, but made contact at Copse when Hamilton tried to pass up the inside into the fast sweeping corner, with Verstappen spinning hard into the barriers and out of the race -- with Hamilton handed a 10-second penalty for the collision.
Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen had then accused Mercedes' driver Lewis Hamilton of disrespectful and unsportsmanlike behaviour. Due to this collision, Verstappen was sent crashing out of the British GP in just the very first lap of the race.
"Glad I'm ok. Very disappointed with being taken out like this. The penalty given does not help us and doesn't do justice to the dangerous move Lewis made on track. Watching the celebrations while still in hospital is disrespectful and unsportsmanlike behavior but we move on," tweeted Verstappen.
( With inputs from ANI )
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