Max Verstappen has called the decision to penalise him after he went off track towards the end of the race ‘ridiculous’.
The teenager was given a five second penalty after it was deemed he gained an advantage for cutting a corner when battling against Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. He also said Vettel was a ‘very frustrated guy’.
Verstappen’s race started and ended with controversy. At the start of the race, he tried to make a move on Nico Rosberg ahead of him, making contact with the Mercedes driver and forcing Rosberg wide.
Then, in the closing stages of the race, Verstappen locked up under breaking and was also forced to cut the corner, which kept him ahead of Vettel. The team told Verstappen to give the place to the Red Bull driver, fearing a penalty but, in typical Verstappen-style, the teenager ignored the message and kept the place. That allowed his teammate Daniel Ricciardo to close in on Vettel and try to make a move.
After the race, Verstappen was handed a five-second penalty so, even though he crossed the line in third, the Red Bull drive was classified fifth. Verstappen said the penalty was unfair, as it was similar to what happened with Rosberg and other drivers who cut the corner at the start of the race.
“It’s pretty similar to what happened lap one, corner one,” he told reporters. “I think Lewis ran off, he gained a massive advantage. Nico also ran off at turn one when we had touched and he also gained an advantage. I didn’t even gain an advantage: I was ahead of him under breaking and, when I came back on track, I was the same length in front. I think it’s ridiculous.”
This isn’t the first time Verstappen has come against Vettel. Vettel has often complained about some of Verstappen’s manoeuvres, particularly moving under breaking, which Verstappen has used to defend in the past. There has since been a rule made against it. Now it was Verstappen’s turn to criticise Vettel, though, as the German may have moved under breaking as he tried to defend against Ricciardo.
“He doesn’t know how to do it,” Verstappen said. “It’s ridiculous what he did. Daniel is alongside him and he just turned into him. They touched, and then he starts shouting on the radio.”
Verstappen said he will speak to Vettel about the incident.
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