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F1 presenter Tom Clarkson details a moment between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which all cameras missed.
The tensions was in the air ahead of the title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as the first pre-event press conferences were getting underway.
During the F1 Nation podcast presenter Tom Clarkson revealed that there were discussions on whether to get title contenders Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen to do a handshake photo that the media can use to promote the event.
Clarkson then revealed to co-host Damon Hill that there was a spontaneous moment between the two drivers, that no one expected.
“There was a funny moment on the weekend where, prior to having Max and Lewis together on Thursday, there was a big discussion about do we go for the cheesy handshake shot,” Clarkson said.
“Which I think you [Hill] and [Michael] Schumacher did a few times, didn’t you? So it’s, are we going to go for the cheesy handshake shot because that’s what all the newspapers will want?
“Anyway, Max arrives early, sits down, and we’re just having a chat. About three minutes later, Lewis walks in, walks straight over, fist bumps him and goes, ‘How you doing, man?’ and they have a bit of a chat.
“I thought, brilliant. That is the shot. I don’t need to worry about this cheesy handshake thing anymore.
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“And we had a Netflix camera in there. We had the two cameras that we have in the press conference room anyway. There was even a photographer in there as well.”
However, Clarkson then revealed that none of the present cameramen and photographers managed to catch the moment.
“So the press conference happens and they have a good natter. And then at the end, I said to the Netflix guy, ‘Ah, you must have enjoyed the fist bump’.
“And he goes, ‘Oh, I missed it, mate, I missed it’. I said, ‘You missed it?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, I was focusing on Lewis. and by the time I’d seen what was happening, I’d missed it’. ‘Oh, okay’.
“So I then turn to the camera guy for FOM [Formula One Management]. And I said, ‘Did you get it?’ And he said, ‘No, mate, we still had the slate up’, prior to the start of the press conference.
“I then went to the photographer, ‘Did you get it?’ And he went, ‘Er, no, mate, sorry, I didn’t get it. I had the wrong lens on’.
“So no one knows about this fist bump, except for me and the people in [there], about three others in the room,” the Briton concluded.
