Max Verstappen has been given a grid penalty and penalty points on his licences for his collision with Romain Grosjean.
Verstappen will lose five place on the grid at the next round in Canada and has been given two penalty points.
The Toro Rosso driver blamed Grosjean for the collision, saying his rival braked early for the corner. However the stewards ruled that “car 33 [Verstappen] caused the collision with car 8 [Grosjean] in turn one.”
This article will be updated.
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
24th May 2015, 16:49
Sorry if I’m wrong, but did I hear that Jos Verstappen was one of the stewards this weekend?
Malik (@)
24th May 2015, 16:51
No its Tom Kristensen
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
24th May 2015, 16:53
Ah thanks. Must have mis-heard.
Malik (@)
24th May 2015, 16:56
:)
maarten.f1 (@)
24th May 2015, 17:12
@eurobrun @malik I have read the same thing. Someone here on f1fanatic (I think it was the article about Sainz’ penalty) mentioned that Jos Verstappen was the driver steward this weekend. It would probably pose a (potential) conflict of interest if he would ever be a steward.
Malik (@)
24th May 2015, 17:14
It might be better to ask @Keith Colloantine
maarten.f1 (@)
24th May 2015, 17:26
@malik This was the comment that someone posted.
Polo (@polo)
24th May 2015, 17:28
@eurobrun @maarten-f1 I am pretty sure that comment was just a joke making fun of the fact that Sainz was forced to start from the pit lane.
Malik (@)
24th May 2015, 16:51
Hopefully he can learn from that
His error cost Hamilton race win
Balazsryche (@balazsryche)
24th May 2015, 16:53
lol
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
24th May 2015, 16:57
@malik LOL his error cost Grosjean his race. Hamilton’s race win was spoiled by him and his team. No one outside those two were responsable for it.
BasCB (@bascb)
24th May 2015, 16:58
exactly @fer-no65.
Malik (@)
24th May 2015, 17:00
Without that stupid move Lewis would have finished with 15 seconds advantage with Rosberg second and Merc did not have to bother making any calls
By the way I am not Lewis fan but I feel sorry for him
17 year old guy should not be driving in F1.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
24th May 2015, 17:07
@malik mate, had Max crashed into lewis, yeah, totally his fault. But Hamilton didn’t need to pit. Crash or not, had Lewis not pitted, he’d have won.
So Max had no imput AT ALL on the result of the race. He just opened the window for Merc to make a ridiculous mistake.
Malik (@)
24th May 2015, 17:09
A simple question for you
Without that crash who would have won the race?
Strontium (@strontium)
24th May 2015, 17:18
@malik It depends if Hamilton’s strategists had brought Hamilton in anyway..
Malik (@)
24th May 2015, 17:31
I think FIA was right to make this call
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2014/12/03/fia-moves-block-future-verstappens-f1-age-limit/
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
24th May 2015, 19:58
@malik Hamilton, but with the crash, he should’ve won aswell. So crash or not, it was Hamilton’s to lose. Something OUTSIDE the crash happened (Merc pitting him) and that’s why he lost the race, not the crash.
You’re the only one picking Max for something he hardly did. And even if the events after his crash developed into Rosberg lucking into a win over Hamilton, Max is not to blame for it.
By your logic, Schumacher’s accident with Liuzzi in 2010 Abu Dhabi won the championship for Vettel. But that was just a situation that triggered a bunch of other situations that lead to Alonso pitting to cover Webber and staying behind Petrov, Kubica, Rosberg and so on who had pitted under the SC deployed after Schumi’s accident.
You’re WAY, WAY off.
maarten.f1 (@)
24th May 2015, 17:16
@malik By that same logic, if Torro Rosso hadn’t messed up on his first stop, he wouldn’t have been in this situation. Except “ifs” and “buts” don’t count.
Mercedes messed up and made a bad call. It doesn’t matter how that situation came to be, it happened and they made a bad call.
Malik (@)
24th May 2015, 17:20
Lewis Hamilton admits both he and Mercedes made the call to pit
“It was a collective decision between us all,” says Mercedes driver; World champion thought rivals had pitted
source: http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/24181/9863393/lewis-hamilton-admits-both-he-and-mercedes-made-the-call-to-pit
The thing is that Max accident cost Hamilton win
Balazsryche (@balazsryche)
24th May 2015, 17:26
@malik Seriously, where do you see the proof that the accident FORCED Meredes to call Lewis for fresh rubber? Where?? W…h…e…..r…..e?
Malik (@)
24th May 2015, 17:29
@Balazsryche:
Simple question for you if you want to answer:
Without Max accident, who would have won the race?
San
24th May 2015, 17:32
@malik so by your own admission, Lewis and the Mercedes team bear full responsibility for that decision. The fact that they would not have needed to make that call without the crash, doesn’t mean that it wasn’t a spectacularly bad call.
I honestly cannot understand it. It’s Monaco. You can’t overtake. Even if Vettel or Rodney had had fresh tires, they certainly could not have passed Hamilton. He should always, in all cases, have stayed out.
Balazsryche (@balazsryche)
24th May 2015, 17:37
@malik her we go… by that logic, it could have been chuck norris.
Slowhands (@slowhands)
24th May 2015, 17:48
@malik Everyone knows that there is an 80% chance of a safety car at Monaco in any given F1 race. You just don’t know WHEN it’s going to happen, so a big part of winning at Monaco is to make the right decisions when the unexpected occurs. It seems that you want to blame VES for creating a situation that forced Mercedes to make a decision in the heat of the moment, a decision that did not properly consider the risks in their chosen tactics and thus turned out to be a poor one. Give me a break. VES is a racer, and he was racing to take a position rather than just going around Monaco in single file. A race is not handed to you just because you seem to be leading close to the end. Races are won and lost at the last corner. That’s the beauty of life and racing. It ain’t over till the fat lady sings. It seems like your philosophy of life might not quite take into account the way the universe actually works with regard to how events occur in a complex world.
Malik (@)
24th May 2015, 17:54
@Slowhands:
Why did Alonso blame Grosjean in Spa 2012?
Why did Webber blame Vettel in Suzuka 2007?
Mistakes happen of course but my point is that Max could be a great racer but not at this age. In some countries he can’t even hire a car because of his age.
Slowhands (@slowhands)
24th May 2015, 18:24
@malik When I was racing there were 15 year old kids who did not even have a drivers license who in their first year out of karts were at the head of the field in speed, skills, tactics, and even maturity. It taught me to judge the individual, not the age.
Webber and Alonso blamed the drivers who actually hit THEM. Those were driver errors that damaged THEIR cars, not an accident somewhere else that led them to make a strategic error. There is a difference, and that difference is crucial. If Grosjean wants to blame VES, that’s his prerogative. Yes, the incident changed the complexion of the race. But that’s the essence of racing, that’s why we watch– the unexpected and how people react, who gets it right, who gets it wrong. Lewis lost because Merc made the wrong decision in the situation created by the GRO-VES incident, not due to the incident itself. Rosberg and Vettel made the right decision by knowing track position was key and staying put. What would have happened if they had not been able to get the car cleared away safely enough and the race had ended behind the safety car? The point is that you never know what’s going to happen at Monaco, everyone keeps saying that before the race, and so you must make the right decisions in the heat of the moment, and take the blame if you do not. You can’t blame the incident if it does not involve you. That’s a philosophy of life I don’t understand.
p.s. it was Fuji, not Suzuka
Bradley Downton (@bradley13)
24th May 2015, 16:59
I’m a Hamilton fan, and annoyed as anyone else, but give Verstappen a break.
For one, it’s his first season and he has to be expected to make rookie errors, regardless of his age.
Secondly, he didn’t cost Hamilton a win, Mercedes did. Safety Car’s happen, teams should be prepared. They messed up big time.
On a side note, I’m not sure this is the right call. I initially called it as Max’s mistake, but seeing replays Grosjean did appear to brake quite early.
Having said that though, I’m not sure that even if Max had avoided Grosjean and hit the brakes, he’d have actually stopped in time for the corner… He was quite late.
David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
24th May 2015, 17:12
@bradley13 I don’t think the stewards should give him a break punishment-wise.
The public certainly should perception-wise though.
maarten.f1 (@)
24th May 2015, 17:31
@bradley13 Verstappen did comment he was breaking at exactly the same point as the lap before (of course the stewards have access to the telemetry so they’ll be able to tell whether that’s true or not), and there was so little space between the two that there was little room for error. Personally I see it as a racing incident, it happens to the most experienced drivers (Button recently collected some penalty points because he misjudged it).
Slowhands (@slowhands)
24th May 2015, 17:52
@maarten-f1 I agree with you. Racing incident. I’m disappointed in this decision, because you have to allow racing. It’s a sprint race, for goodness sakes. I also don’t think Alonso should have been penalized for being assertive in a place where you have to take your opportunities when they arise. In the case of Grosjean and Verstappen, I hope the stewards actually looked at the telemetry rather than just the video.
Mark (@marlarkey)
24th May 2015, 19:33
+1 racing incident…. what else is VER supposed to do with just a few laps left ? Stay well behind GRO until the end of the race leaving enough distance JUST IN CASE GRO brakes early ???
That is not racing…. if F1 comes to that I’m out of here…
Now I hear the stewards have punished VER it is just damn wrong.
Steve W
24th May 2015, 18:12
Max said he braked at that same spot the lap before. He was not making a move on Grosjean, just following closely and Grosjean braked early and caught him out. Brundle at the time said Grosjean was braking early. Also watching the onboard from Verstappen, Grosjean was slightly wandering left to right, back to left to take the corner. I too think the stewards got it wrong and it should be called a racing incident. Good to see Grosjean get taken out though. He deserves 20 more of those for costing Alonso the title in 2012.
Mark (@marlarkey)
24th May 2015, 19:33
+1 re comments defended VER… comments re GRO are out of order
ColdFly F1 (@)
24th May 2015, 17:01
You probably didn’t follow the race or read the other articles, @malik.
But it was a poor call by Mercedes that caused him to lose it!
Malik (@)
24th May 2015, 17:03
I did follow the race and Brundle said that something was going to happen and it was the onboard camera with Verstappen when the accident happened
Trenthamfolk (@)
24th May 2015, 17:28
They called it… and it happened… a side effect of putting children in cars.
Michael Brown
24th May 2015, 22:06
Well, when a car follows another car closely, something usually does happen.
An attempted overtake.
Dave (@)
24th May 2015, 17:37
Explain how a Safety Car period during which fuel is saved and tyres are preserved would force Mercedes to pit a driver to change tyres.
Jochem
24th May 2015, 17:58
Who to blame for p3 Hamilton? 100% Mercedes and certainly not Max Verstappen (World Champion 2018).
Michael Brown
24th May 2015, 18:15
I didn’t know that Verstappen had crashed into Hamilton.
Mark (@marlarkey)
24th May 2015, 19:27
Learn what ? Not to try to overtake people ?
Thomas A (@gremlinwon)
25th May 2015, 11:16
Reading the comments here with have yet another mindless Hamilton follower… Oh dear.
I’ve watched the replay of the accident several times, Grojean did slightly swerve right then left in the while braking.
Grojean also broke alot earlier than the normal which when you have this useless thing called DRS giving you 15mph more speed you also have less reaction time and control of you car.
It’s verstappen’s fault the crash as you can’t over-rule the judges. I can’t change the decision but the crash was not the cause to Hamilton’s childish, stupid actions for losing one GP. It’s the teams fault but he just has to deal with that and stop trying to mimic the world of senna. It’s pathetic if you ask me.
Solo (@solo)
8th June 2015, 14:43
I don’t know if his a Hamilton follower. He seems to be using Hamilton for his “no 17 year olds in F1” campaign.
As a Hamilton fan am annoyed by this guy at max level.
Tomas
24th May 2015, 16:54
His error did not cost Hamilton race win. Mercedes decision did. Huge difference.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
24th May 2015, 19:02
Chain of events – chain of events. If Hamilton was reckless, he and Vetter may not have been alive today… I have no idea how Hamilton cooled himself during the race – when your adrenaline is shooting through your heart and your anger levels rise it’s actually impossible to do that.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
24th May 2015, 16:55
Pff… why every crash needs a penalty afterwards? can’t it just be a racing incident?
Not taking about this particular case, which was a bit more serious (and unfair on Max, IMO). But Ricciardo and Kimi was investigated. Alonso and Hulk was investigated too. Can’t they just race? Alonso vs Hulk was just a racing incident…
Eeeeeeeeeeverything that happens on track is investigated these days, and a fair share of those investigations ends in a penalty for one or another…
BasCB (@bascb)
24th May 2015, 16:59
I guess him beeing a rookie and going for moves all the time was a factor in deciding to give him a “lesson” with the penalty. Lets hope it doesn’t stop him from going for it in the following races @fer-no65
Patrick (@paeschli)
24th May 2015, 19:49
The stewards:
An exciting driver? Let’s give him a lesson!
OmarR-Pepper - Vettel 40 victories!!! (@)
24th May 2015, 19:03
@fer-no65 sorry to disagree but Alonso vs Hulk was not “just” a racing incident. I can agree with you that Ricciardo on Kimi can be passed, but Alonso’s move resulted on a frontal crash with debris included (it was quite a miracle it didn’t produce a SC).
Slowhands (@slowhands)
24th May 2015, 19:31
@omarr-pepper just because a move ends in carbon fibre debris doesn’t mean a penalty is required. I’m with @fer-no65, too many penalties. Let the guys race and take some chances. Everything does not need to be DRS passes.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
24th May 2015, 19:40
@omarr-pepper incidents shouldn’t be measured by consquences. That’s my point. It was slight contact, which resulted bad for Hulk, but what can you do?
Hulk suffered such penalty himself, after juuust touching Hamilton at turn 1 in Brazil 2012. Which resulted in Hamilton’s DNF.
They investigate everything these days.
Mark (@marlarkey)
24th May 2015, 19:34
+1 so many jump to impose a penalty – do they not want people to race any more ?
Irejag (@irejag)
24th May 2015, 16:57
I don’t see how you can penalize him for Grosjean braking early! Verstappen is a better racer than Grosjean can even dream of being. He should have gotten out of the way of future Senna.
Beyond (@lello4ever)
24th May 2015, 17:03
I agree that Grosjean braked very early and took Verstappen off guard. Too harsh a penalty
Bio
24th May 2015, 17:11
Verstappen wouldn’t made it through anyway even if he’d passed Grosjean, he was way too fast to complete that corner. Totally his fault.
Dave (@)
24th May 2015, 18:26
Yes, it’s totally Verstappen’s fault he couldn’t slow down because the front of his car was destroyed by someone braking way before the normal braking point.
Patrick (@paeschli)
24th May 2015, 19:52
When he saw Grosjean braking earlier, the first thing Verstappen did was steering away to try to avoid him, not braking. This gives a false impression of speed. If Grosjean had braked at the same point as the lap before, both drivers would have made the corner without problem.
Velocityboy (@velocityboy)
24th May 2015, 18:14
I’d imagine the stewards checked the telemetry of the cars after hearing Max’s excuse. Perhaps Grojean didn’t brake early or move unnecessarily and it was simply an error by a young driver.
verstappen (@verstappen)
24th May 2015, 18:55
How much do you want to leave in case someone’s ‘saving’ anything and thus breaking earlier.
Today Max reminded me of Jos. Jos said the same when he crashed into Montoya.
jon
24th May 2015, 22:03
It’s not RG’s fault that VER slammed into him because he supposedly braked earlier than previous laps.
VER needs to learn to be in control at all times and not “assume” how others will react in certain circumstances. The penalty is justified IMO. I just hope he learns from it
Irejag (@irejag)
25th May 2015, 3:15
As DC always says, “You have to trust the other drivers.”
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
24th May 2015, 22:09
‘Future Senna’, hahaha, do you realise how many people Senna rammed off the track?
Prost’s the famous one, but Brundle (at least twice), Mansell, Berger…and many more.
Take the rose-tinted Senna glasses off (are they made by Thom Browne and set you back $875?)
Shrieker (@shrieker)
24th May 2015, 17:03
And a thank you from Rosberg ;)