Lewis Hamilton has dismissed Max Verstappen's in-race claim that he should have been penalised for the way he defended position in the early stages of the Austrian Grand Prix.
The old rivals went wheel-to-wheel at the Red Bull Ring on Sunday, with Hamilton keeping Verstappen's Red Bull behind him for the first 22 laps of the race.
Verstappen first attempted to pass Hamilton at Turn 3 on lap 11, only to lose the position again on the run down to Turn 4.
The Red Bull driver locked up into Turn 4 but still managed to get a better exit and attempted to pass Hamilton around the outside of Turn 6.
With the Red Bull on the outside, Hamilton claimed the apex of the corner and then inched Verstappen towards the gravel in the run-off area as they remained wheel-to-wheel on the exit.
"That's a penalty," Verstappen said over team radio after losing out on the position. "Clear penalty."
The stewards noted the incident as a possible example of "forcing another driver off the track" but chose not to investigate after a brief review of the footage.
After the race, Hamilton said there was no way Verstappen was going to pass him around the outside of a high-speed corner like Turn 6.
"Well, he went off on the outside," Hamilton said. "You don't expect to go around the outside of a champion.
"I wouldn't expect to go around the outside of him there and hold the line.
"He was behind at the apex and therefore he should have backed out, but he didn't. I left just enough room for him."
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Verstappen finally overtook Hamilton on lap 22 when he positioned his car to the inside of Turn 6, leaving the Ferrari with nowhere to go on the outside.
The seven-time champion said Verstappen's Red Bull, which went on to finish the race second with Hamilton dropping to fifth, had benefitted from significant performance upgrades in Austria.
"They made a huge step this weekend," Hamilton said. "I think they must have brought a three or four tenths [of a second] upgrade.
"Three tenths was just from the weight that they dropped from the car, which was huge. Considering they've been so close in some of the races like Monaco and they were nine kilos overweight, it's showing that they've got a good car and that they've lost that weight.
"And then they brought up lots of upgrades, so they're going to be a force to be reckoned with in the following races."
