UNBELIEVABLE: Max Verstappen announcement his retirement today....

Already frustrated by a surprising lack of pace at Imola on Friday, Verstappen was visibly infuriated when Hamilton impeded him at the Villeneuve chicane.

The Dutchman gestured at Hamilton and drove towards the Mercedes, before the Brit offered a hand of apology. The incident was not noted or investigated by the stewards.

“It’s not the first time,” Verstappen said when asked about the incident with Hamilton.

“You try to, of course, always stay calm about it, but it happened again.

“But on the other hand, also I don’t want to really talk about it too much because that’s not our issue today. We were just severely off pace that we need to fix.”

As his hand of apology suggested he would, Hamilton accepted responsibility for the incident in his post-session interview.

“I was on a cool-down lap, I thought I would have been well clear but all of a sudden he was like right on me,” the seven-time world champion said.

“Ultimately it was my mistake and I tried to apologise, but I think he was too frustrated already.”

Verstappen wasn’t the only driver Hamilton irked during second practice, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso also criticising the Brit over team radio.

“Hamilton thinks that he’s alone on the track,” Alonso said. “It’s the second lap he does it. Turn 12, and now Turn 7.”

Neither of the incidents Alonso was referring to were noted or investigated by the stewards.