Max Verstappen was given a 10-second penalty and three penalty points due to colliding with George Russell.
Red Bull Racing took multiple Ls here:
1 - putting the hard tires on (this one goes to the team engineer) 2 - asking Max to give the position back after he was clearly pushed (this one goes to the team engineer too) 3 - crashing into Russell (this one goes to Max)
If they avoided this three dumb mistakes Max could have ended 4th, he would have had it difficult because of the lack of grip, but at the very least he wouldn’t have been penalized.
Max wasn’t pushed at all!. Russel was already ahead at the apex, the issue is that Max never yields whether he has to or not. Every similar situation in the past 4 years has resulted in the same outcome
No other tyres left, would have been very vulnerable in last laps, this is debatable and we’ll never know. Race engineer is probably in the right, and Max knew it or he wouldn’t have given it up. Max threw his car into George, the lack of a race ban is ridiculous
The race engineer was wrong. The stewards confirmed after the race that the first incident between Max and George would not be penalized and Max taking the escape route was fine. There was no reason to give back the place in hindsight.
I am wondering if he would have been penalized if he would not have given the position back
I’d like to know which person looked at the first George incident with him and thought Max needed to give that position back. That was the second stupidest thing that happened in the whole mess.
My guess would be it’s because Verstappen and Russell were right alongside, then Verstappen went off the track, then Verstappen was several car lengths ahead. That’s an advantage gained even if he didn’t explicitly overtake or prevent an overtake off track. That close to the end of the race, it’s better to give the place back and overtake than risk a penalty which would drop you several places
That would be Gianpiero Lambiase and the rest of the supporting Red Bull team… I’m pretty sure their opinion is likely above average in accuracy
I feel like Gianpiero wouldn’t be the actual person reviewing the footage and making that decision…he had to convey it certainly, but there’s certainly someone else watching the replay deciding that.
Doesn’t mean they’re right. If you look at Russell’s pov he’s turning right and just as Max is passing him to take the inside line Russell corrects to the left and bumps into Max forcing him to drive off. If Russell did it deliberately then he’s is at fault and if he did it accidentally it’s a racing incident.
11 out of 12 penalty points. He’s going to end up sitting out a race this year with the way he’s going.
He’s not going to care if he isn’t in the championship hunt and they aren’t allowed to criticize anything. The frustration is building and Max isn’t one to be reserved about anything. It wouldn’t surprise me to see more boneheaded maneuvers as a form of protest.
I mean, he’s basically the only one that can challenge the McLaren boys at this point. There’s no guarantees McLaren will be the best car for the whole season, and they could start taking points off each other as their rivalry heats up. The tantrum in Barcelona is throwing away any chance of him being in a position to grab those points if it ever comes.
I don’t disagree but I also think anything but a win rings hollow for Max. He’s shown in the past he’s willing to play the team game when it’s to his advantage but when it comes to making smart decisions in the heat of battle… Well he has a reputation I’ll say that.
I enjoy watching him race and hope he doesn’t do anything silly, but I wouldn’t put my money on this being the end of the theatrics and acting out.
I believe 2 of 11 will expire this month
Edit: yes: https://www.planetf1.com/features/f1-penalty-points-drivers
Couldn’t happen to a better fella.
