Nico Hulkenberg and Charles Leclerc had a misunderstanding during FP1 in Austria, and the German complained over the radio.
The first and only practice session of the weekend concluded in Spielberg. Max Verstappen set the fastest time, but during the first free practice session in Austria, there was also a clash between Nico Hulkenberg and Charles Leclerc.
On one of his flying laps on hard tires, the Monegasque encountered traffic from the Haas driver at Turn 4. Charles Leclerc was forced to abort his lap.
The Ferrari driver, however, as he had done with Lando Norris in Spain, got annoyed and “widened” his racing line a bit under braking to “send a message” to the German. Nico Hulkenberg, in turn, did not appreciate Charles Leclerc’s reaction. He then drew alongside him again at Turn 5, making a clear hand gesture.
Niko Hulkenberg’s Team Radio
The Haas driver immediately opened up on the radio to explain his point of view to his engineer. He also made a comment about drivers constantly complaining about traffic.
Niko Hulkenberg: “I aborted. I didn’t know the Ferrari was on a lap.”
Gannon: “Watch out for Verstappen, who is pushing.”
Niko Hulkenberg: “All these cry-babies whining about traffic.”
The FIA did not investigate the incident between Charles Leclerc and Niko Hulkenberg during FP1 in Austria. It is certainly something of minor importance compared to what was seen in Barcelona. There, Charles Leclerc had indeed touched Lando Norris, just as Lance Stroll had done with Lewis Hamilton. Both were then reprimanded by the stewards. The focus now shifts to the Sprint qualifying. There are still many uncertainties as the first practice session showed rather large gaps between the top teams.
Source: f1ingenerale
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