Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Jeddah Corniche Circuit, 2021

F1 is ‘more about penalties than racing’ fumes Verstappen after Hamilton clashes

2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

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Max Verstappen says his fiery Saudi Arabian Grand Prix battle with Lewis Hamilton was not what Formula 1 should be after collecting a penalty and tangling with his rival while trying to let him by.

The championship rivals clashed several times over the 50 laps of the race. Verstappen had to give up his position to the Mercedes driver more than once after being deemed to have gain an illegal off-track advantage on two occasions.

Tensions reached a boiling point when the pair collided on lap 38, when Verstappen – slowing down to allow Hamilton past on the approach to the final corner – braked in front of the Mercedes in the middle of the track, with Hamilton appearing reluctant to pass the Red Bull. Stewards eventually gave Verstappen a five-second time penalty and have summoned him to address the lap 38 incident. Hamilton was subsequently summoned as well.

After finishing behind Hamilton in second place at the chequered flag, Verstappen was voted F1’s ‘Driver of the Day’. Told about the result on his radio while on his way back to the pits, Verstappen expressed his dissatisfaction with the chaotic nature of the race.

“Luckily the fans have a clear mind about racing, because what happened today is unbelievable,” said Verstappen.

“I’m just trying to race and this sport lately is more about penalties than racing. For me, this is not Formula 1. But at least the fans enjoyed it and I gave it all today, but clearly not quick enough. But still happy with second.”

On lap 38, Verstappen was told by race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase to allow Hamilton by “strategically” on the exit of turn 22. After slowing down through turn 25, Hamilton slowed behind him, before colliding into the back of the Red Bull. Verstappen says he did not understand what his rival was doing.

“I slowed down. I wanted to let him by, so I’m on the right,” Verstappen explained. “But he didn’t want to overtake and then we touched. I don’t really understand what happened there.”

After battling once again with Hamilton, Verstappen eventually surrendered the lead permanently, before falling back from the Mercedes on his worn medium tyres.

“I’m not sure if the tyres were lasting to the end,” Verstappen said. “I think it was good for the beginning for the end of the stint – the last stint, basically. Just lacking a bit of rubber towards the end.”

Verstappen has already been given one penalty point in addition to his five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, putting him on a total of five for the current 12-month period.

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Will Wood
Will has been a RaceFans contributor since 2012 during which time he has covered F1 test sessions, launch events and interviewed drivers. He mainly...

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173 comments on “F1 is ‘more about penalties than racing’ fumes Verstappen after Hamilton clashes”

  1. The tantrum of someone over-indulged. Racing is about sticking to the racing rules – like overtaking on-track, not off.

    1. He gave the position back

      1. And is complaining about it.

        Maybe he should actually try to overtake instead of playing solely the foul game.

        1. He complained because the 5 second penalty and Lewis hitting him from behind.

          But the fact is he gave the position back but Lewis didn’t take it but hit him. And they go to the stewards for that

          1. it was confirmed, ham didnt get the message about position swap, they should have informed ham first, not last, then he would expect the swap. but max was cheeky and was waiting for the drs line, as it was seen in his second attempt… either way disgusting behavior, he is going full speed and suddenly 5 gears change slow down in middle of a very fast run!

          2. Mercedes informed Lewis late, but the question is if the FIA did it late.

            Let’s wait for the stewards

        2. He passed Hamilton And out drive him in the second or third standing start

    2. @david-br Spoken by a true Hamilton fan!

      1. @maddme Spoken like a fan of formula 1. Verstappen’s pass on the second restart was fine, what we want to see. On the first he went totally off track to win a place, cutting the corner, when he was clearly beaten off the line and Hamilton way ahead already. If you can’t see the completely self-evident, there’s no point in any discussion.

        1. It was a completely off track pass and I won’t say differently. Given the prior safety car lead formation lap that Hamilton dropped back more than 10 car lengths behind Max, if situations were reversed, would you blame one driver over the other for corner cutting to regain a potential advantage (such as warmer tyres)?

          This was only clarified after the 2nd red flag…

          1. @maddme That kind of complaint happens all the time. Hamilton also suggested Verstappen did a pit lane practice start when they set off and he had even more to be fuming about since Max had gained the lead with a ‘lucky’ and perhaps needless red flag. None of that has any relation to Max going way off track though – again or to his over-entitled whine that F1 is ‘about penalties not racing’. It’s not Mario Kart with ‘special Max short cuts’ to the front.

          2. @maddme

            As a Hamilton fan I will admit Lewis was playing games dropping that far back. But stop comparing apples and oranges.

          3. @maddme
            max was heard loud and clear about these and it was not even noted by stewards nor asked to masi for clarification (if it was noone heard it the first time?)
            “This was only clarified after the 2nd red flag… Hamilton dropped back more than 10 car lengths behind Max”

            it was asked on the radio to masi, and it was clarified. if the inaction wasnt clear enough the first time, we all heard it the second time. to be honest, i wouldnt trust masi with my spare tire’s nuts… he has been rubbish about rules/regulations and application of penalties for day/night clear violations!

          4. And don’t forget that the 10-car length also applies to VER , but for his distance to the Safety Car, which at the same time he complained about HAM was 100 car length to the Safety Car…

          5. @MaddMe It was only an issue because Verstappen doesn’t know the rules. Those are not “formation laps”. We’ve had this before in previous races this season.

        2. geoffgroom44 (@)
          6th December 2021, 10:03

          +1

        3. Thomas E Sizemore
          6th December 2021, 16:35

          Looked like F1 has taken too many lessons from NASCAR Officials. Anyone that has driven a racing vehicle under race conditions could see that Max clearly “Brake Checked” Lewis in order to gain a competitive advantage. The DRS Zone encourages this type of “dangerous” driving. SHAME ON F1″.

    3. For the people who think Max is all wrong and Lewis is the good standard that needs to be held up. For those who think new boy Verstappen needs to learn a lot…

      Be aware, that you belong to the few old men that are still watching this sport. F1 viewer numbers decline every year. Yes, Max belongs to the new aggressive, instant gratification generation. However, so are the many young viewers. Max can still save this sport. He is right that not many (young) people still do understand all these F1 rules, as a few old men still do. Some years ago, F1 races were considered too long, boring and with too many rules. Max makes racing fun and simple. Get past the car in front of you. Max is at this moment the person who can save the F1 sport. People see action and people talk about it. And if you think Max still needs to learn a lot, then you do not understand the basics of commercial sports. Max does not only understand racing but he understands selling it too.

      Lastly about Mercedes. Mercedes is winning battles (races) but losing the war. Car brands do not join this sport to win the formula 1. They join F1 (Mercedes with about 500 employees) to sell more cars. Lewis trashing Max (being a very popular driver of the day), and Toto smashing violently his headphones does not help. Mercedes joined World War II on the wrong side which people will never forget, Mercedes is paying at the moment damages for committing fraud through emissions cheating. And Mercedes is now making complaint after complaint against the most popular driver of F1. So much money has Mercedes invested in F1 and so little return on investment they receive through these negative news casts. If I’d be a Mercedes stock holder, I’d be very unhappy.

      The solution for today would have been simple. Put a wall where all the lines are. So that nobody can cross these lines anymore. So you can drop a million rules. These walls nowadays can absorb a lot of impact. Sure, some cars will be damaged, but crashes are fun and people can talk about that a lot too. If you’re afraid of injuries, simply do not become a F1 driver and refuse the large salary.

  2. Only a narc like Max would go away disappointed with 5sec penalty , which didn’t mean anything in the end.

    1. @ivan-vinitskyy

      he is using the brazil example as he was faultless again… unbelievable what the race director/stewards created!
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=650mei4aEXI

  3. Oh Max, please grow up. If you want to be a worthy champion.

  4. Verstappen might be better served by reflecting a little on why he seems to be getting penalties every other race. Perhaps he could consider learning how to defend and overtake without crashing or running other drivers off the road.

    1. @mazdachris. Every other race? Really you sure about that?

      1. @maddme Let’s be honest, every time Max is in danger of being overtaken he’s doing something that is either borderline or way past the line and should be penalised. The fact he didn’t get the penalty every other race says more about his raw pace, pace of his car and FIA.

        1. @ivan-vinitskyy yeah, Slowing and pulling to the right side of the circuit is such a dangerous thing to do and for Hamilton to have to steer directly for the rear of Verstappen to hit him really shows just how dangerous Verstappen must be.., I mean there was only enough space for an ocean liner to pass on the left!

          1. Don’t know what race you were watching. Whiny Max stayed right in the middle of the track.

        2. Don’t waste your time… some Max fans are just that, Max fans. It has nothing to do with F1.

          As a Dutchman I’ve supported Lewis since 2007. Ever since Max arrived, I was glad to see some ‘fresh air’. I remember that Max was heavily criticized about his driving in 2016. It were Lewis and Alonso who said just give him time. 5 years later and Max hasn’t learned a thing about hard and fair racing. I guess most to blame is that his environment is not able to make him reflect. Even worse, MAs is supported in his behavior by his team.

  5. Max is more about causing collisions than racing. Black flag for Max in this race was the only correct decision.

    1. Because he stands to gain from such collisions. There were like 5 incidents Hamilton took avoiding action.
      This is pathetic for a professional sport.

    2. the fact that max did really try to confuse ham on the swap attempt and was going left right left right middle and massive slow down, he was expecting collision from this to gain massively and say look i was trying to give him the position back, just like his second disgusting attempt.

      f1 memories of some are very short, that second attempt was a clear 25 sec worth penalty to begin with…

    3. max is turning out to be a very dangerous driver.
      one of these days he will get someone hurt.

  6. Max confuses racing with crossing the line first – Whacky Races style. Racing means winning by being faster within the rules. Max just wants to cross the line first – and really doesn’t care whether how he got there was fair. The problem is, that if he keeps getting away with it, all the drivers will have to drive the same way or they may as well just crown Max champion in race 1. If everyone drives like Max – people are going to get badly hurt.

  7. Racing happens on the track. If you go off the race track you’re probably not ‘racing’… more likely, you’re driving without sufficient car control to make the corner.

    Could understand the approach if you were compensating for a lack of talent, but at the end of his career Verstappen will go down as one of the best drivers in F1 history. He’s more than good enough to stay within the white lines and still win…

    1. @neilosjames Without Verstappen being Verstappen this season would have been a lot more boring. He has that fire inside him that e.g Senna, Schumacher, Alonso and Hamilton had when they were young, hungry and getting close to that first title.
      We really haven’t seen two younglings fight together to clinch that first championship (maybe 2007 in someway). It has always been the next star challenging the old one. If this battle would happen between 2007 Hamilton and 2021 Verstappen they would both probably end up in the barriers to help one finn to win the title :)

  8. I didn’t see any brake light.

    1. @jt1234 I assume you’re sarcastic, but F1 cars don’t have brake lights, LOL.

      1. we didnt see any signal lights or hand gestures either but hey we cant have all we want :)

      2. They do, at the tip of the gear box crash structure. Same light that flashes in the rain.

  9. This is what I hate about Red Bull. Hamilton deserves a penalty for not leaving room on track for Max. Hamilton’s car is completely on track and there isn’t room. However, in Brazil, Max’s car is 20 feet off the track with Hamilton another 20 feet off to avoid, and no investigation necessary.

    1. You have a good point there!! @jimfromus

    2. @jimfromus What are you saying? That Ham pushed Max wide, when Max on the outside and a car length behind?

      This late braking that Max does means he’s out of control and can’t make corners. It looks like he’s alongside but it’s only because he’s carrying too much speed. It happened in Brazil, it happened in Monza and it happened today at the second restart. He went into the corner with so much speed that if Ham didn’t react they would all 3 crash.

      1. Silverstone too.

    3. You are absolutely right there @jimfromus. But the FIA noted after Brazil that this is fair as long as there is tarmac on the outside of the track.
      This not the kind of ‘racing’ I want to see in F1.

      1. +100

        Having no intention of making a corner is not racing. And the calling it OK if the OTHER party is smart enough to avoid an accident is really absurd.

        Also not the F1 I’d like to see.

  10. The sad part is, that the bubble he lives in, Verstappen will never realise how dirty his driving is.

    Even the FIA doesn’t give him penalties for clear things.

    1. Too much play station

      1. Jack (@jackisthestig)
        5th December 2021, 21:38

        But he’s very clean in Sim Racing, with a robust, consistent penalty system in iRacing he’s clean, sensible and yet very successful.

  11. I feel the FIA and Stewards are partly at fault for not setting clear precedent. Driving standards look like they’re deteriorating, and by their own inaction, the FIA are sending a clear message that it’s ok with some of the questionable driving we’ve seen.

    You can’t be allowed to just use your car as a weapon and launch it off the track to keep someone behind you. It’s so unsporting, and ultimately dangerous.

    1. Hiland (@flyingferrarim)
      5th December 2021, 21:14

      +1 THIS!!!

      This can of worms started in Austria when Max pushed Leclerc off track not giving racing room regardless of this “having the racing line” nonsense standard. The inactions behind Max’s driving standards indeed has fractured/fuzzied what racing etiquette really is. Max always expects his opponents to back off for him and that is not racing. Honestly, I think Max just didn’t care if both him and Lewis crashed out today. That’s what his driving told me about him today!

  12. And yet we still don’t see any actions so why expect him to change. FIA condones those actions most of the time. It was so shocking today listening to Masi asking if the team are willing to except 2nd or third place for restart after clearly going off and joining unsafely. Why would Max change his approach, if he had gone wide and kept position its a win, if he had gone wide and rejoined into Ham like he almost done it’s a win. There is no loss, because no penalty for dangerous driving.

  13. I really hope that Alpine is at Red Bull’s level next season. It would be hilarious to see Alonso’s reaction if Verstappen pulled these kinds of moves against him and got away with only a 5 second time penalty.

    1. 5 seconds is a joke!

    2. “All the time you have to leave a space!! Ok!?”

      1. Where is Max? where is he??? Karma, Karma!

    3. @hotbottoms
      Alonso’s racing awareness and IQ is absolutely top notch. The question is whether next year he will have the same physical and mental capacity and especially reflexes to perform like he always did. BTW, in the 2013 season Hamilton did have some on-track battles with Alonso in which he was playing mind games with the DRS :

      – The first one in Montreal, he slowed down just before the DRS detection line to let Alonso pass and then have the DRS in the next two straights. Alonso reflex reaction was unreal and he sensed that Hamilton lifted and braked before the line as a result : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3kbxjBAYmM#t=0m45s

      – The second one was in SPA where Hamilton did the exact same thing as in Montreal though Alonso reacted differently. He passed Hamilton before the DRS detection zone and Hamilton did have the DRS after Eau-Rouge. Alonso saved his KERS and used it all to defend from Hamilton on the straight keeping in mind that emptying his KERS would directly impact his braking but he was so skilful with controlling the backend of his car and saved his rear in the braking zones : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OmnjYNypB4

  14. The man gets the bare minimum amount of penalties for his standard of driving. First thing he does is complain about too many penalties.

    Someone give the baby a dummy please.

  15. Lapped drivers routinely let the leaders pass properly and safely. Max placed his car in the middle of the track which prevented Lewis to commit on either side of the track therefore not properly letting Lewis to pass. He then did not even wait for one corner and immediately overtook Lewis again gaining a lasting advantage. There was just so much wrong going on.

    1. @amg44 I agree. The way he attempted to let him pass was quite a clear-cut intention of causing a rear-end collision, in which he succeeded, albeit still lost.

    2. Yes, and not only in the middle of the track but moving side to side, and changing down 4 gears! Trying to repass immediately with DRS, and then Lewis gets investigated for resisting! But I knew as soon as I saw Liuzzi was a steward things would be lax for Max, and he’d know it.

      1. @zann Liuzzi was the driver steward also in Monza.

        1. And he was also the driver steward in Sao Paulo. You couldn’t make it up…

        2. Yes and Brazil as Learon says, I’m not suggesting he’s consistent. But he has to dish out the odd meaningless penalty or even FIA would start to notice.

    3. No one instructed Lewis to drive straight behind Max or did they? He just had a huge brain fade moment and almost ruined both of their races. But hey anything goes when it comes to blaming someone else right?

      1. @w0o0dy noone told him he was being let by either until after the incident, and noone gives way like max does… left right left right middle and 5 gear down boom… but i was letting him by, he was confusing ham and was aiming for a collusion and claim innocence nonsense as usual.

        1. @mysticus how is being confused an excuse to drive into someone? Lewis had a brain fade and somehow the blame lands on Max. it’s completely ridiculous. Hamilton drove into Max instead of simply going around him. He had 3 seconds to get into an overtaking position, but he drove into Max. I’m sorry but that is just a brainless error.

  16. I think Max clearly crossed a line today. But that being said, who knows? the camel’s back been broken for a long while… it just keeps adding up, weird steward decisions, no proper policy on track limits, what really is and isnt’ allowed in wheel to wheel racing, a crazy, stupid racetrack…

    If this race happened last year, I’d be all over my keyboard demanding a DSQ for Max, even taking that “i’ll let you go but not really” manouvre, which we’ve also seen in the past but not to this extent. But after all we’ve seen this year? it’s like commonplace… the new way to race: throw your car around and wait to see what the stewards, in the fancy suits, in a little room above the paddock, think it’s legal today.

    1. @fer-no65 that’s the thing actually, we reach this point because there has not been precedent and implicitly Verstappen has been encouraged to continue this way with other drivers following suit with diverse outcomes.
      Unfortunately it creates an environment where all do not race by the same rule as rightly pointed by Alonso. And the last attempt during driver meeting following Brazil just proved the point. It’s like the FIA saying “we know” and not adding any comment or doing anything about it…

      Hopefully it stays about the racing in the future otherwise it might not matter which cow liberty is trying to milk, we might all start to search for drinks somewhere else (by the read of comments since the race ended)

  17. A bad loser and acting like a petulant child, stay classy Verstappen, your fans love it.

  18. Max got 2 penalties for turn 1 incident and obeyed them. So why DSQ? Lewis did the same move as Max but at turn 27. Only he got a warning that pushing an opponent IN THE WALL is not a safe thing to do. And don’t even start about the ram of Lewis to Max. If one driver deserves a DSQ its Lewis.

    1. Hey @ruben!
      Since Brazil and thanks to Max, we know that running an opponent off track is ok as long as there is tarmac on the outside of the track. So, if Hamilton has to be penalized, so did Max.

      1. @x303 i wouldnt be surprised if ham got a 5 sec with “different track/stewards, different rules/decisions/penalties” excuse… you can expect anything from the director/stewards that couldnt be any worse match in the history of the sport

  19. To be correct, he gave back the position AND Still got 5 seconds… That’s not how it works or not how the rules normally work. But anything to keep Hamilton in the title fight I guess.. the guy can play dirty all he wants and even runs into the back of Max without penalty….. weird.

    1. See Spa 2008.

    2. Imagine how much Max copium you’d need to be on to have this opinion… weird.

      1. János (@meandthewanderlust)
        5th December 2021, 21:28

        It is true that it has not been the policy to sanction a driver two times for the same transgression.

        And it’s also weird to slow down on the straight under a green flag and then have your opponent crash into you instead of driving past.

        1. I guess Hamilton is a little rusty as it was a pass without drs…. It confused the *** outta him.

          1. I guess Hamilton is a little rusty as it was a pass without drs…. It confused the heck outta him.

      2. Strictly facts.

        1. Some facts. Not all of them. And presented out of context to suit your version of reality.

  20. FIA artificially added “excitement” to the championship. I’m old enough to know this trick is not new and they subtly do that. Anybody remembers 94? Schumacher should have walked away much earlier if not by FIA and their dubious rules.

    1. Absolutely, and then you have people saying hill should’ve won because schumacher took him out in adelaide; if they hadn’t given a disproportionate penalty across the year he’d have walked that championship, and won before even getting to adelaide.

    2. No FIA if anything tried to give MAX every opportunity however ridiculous and obvious there were to make him the WDC a before the final race, but MAX tried his best to shoot himself and his image in the foot a lot more than once. i dont think FIA could have done any more favors than they did without being sued.

  21. That’s what you get if you don’t give the space.

    Absolute spoiled child who’s behaviour is only getting worse as Massi is pandering to him, there will be a collision in Abu Dhabi.

  22. The battle seems to be more off track then on track.
    The insinuation here and a bit more there.

    Because it’s more off track, you hear more picks on others to report on issues.
    it becomes more apparent with the FIA radio calls.

    And the confusion gets many people in different items onto there bias, the opinions fly.
    We have had races,, now the last race will determine the drivers championship.
    Teams have settled there standings already i think

  23. Why were Redbull twice given an option to avoid an incident being investigated by stewards today? Has this option been given to any other teams?

    1. Yes, it’s such an established offer that teams routinely don’t even wait to be actually offered it before taking it as an option

  24. Sorry, but reading many of these comments appears to suggest that Hamilt9n would do nothing wrong! Perhaps reviewing Hamilton’s career over the past 10 years, might be an option, then again, perhaps beforehand remove those Hamilton tinted glasses!

    1. Hamilton has done much wrong in his career @maddme, I remember the 2011 season only too well. However Hamilton has admitted he’s made mistakes, he’s always going on about learning from his mistakes. I would personally like to see, just once, only once, Max say that he made a mistake. He never does, ever, and that is the mindset of a bully, always thinking you’re in the right. Hamilton is absolutely no Saint, his holding back before the restart was not on in my opinion, but Max has been given a free pass to continue this style of driving in Brazil, and never ever admits he is wrong. Even passing waved yellows he couldn’t admit he was at fault. It’s now becoming a bit of a worrying character trait.

      1. János (@meandthewanderlust)
        5th December 2021, 21:25

        To be fair, getting a penalty even after letting your opponent by is quite nonsensica.
        As far as remember, it has been the policy to do either or, not both!
        No wonder he’s frustrated about that.

        1. @meandthewanderlust well no because after the collision he then didn’t slow again, he got the 5 seconds, then he decided to slow but it was too late at this point. That’s why over the radio the engineer said “you didn’t have to do that”.

      2. @john-h

        Maybe it’s a nurture thing. Jos’ legal troubles ollowing assaults is well documented. Background plays an important in the makeup of a human being- some people realise the wrong things about their upbringing and correct them. Others embrace these things and frankly they turn out to be awful human beings. Also, I have never been a fan of the Red Bull culture with Marko and Horner. That won’t help neither.

        1. JOS NEWS:

          “Former formula one driverJos Verstappen from the Netherlands appeared in court this week, accused of harassment and assault against his wife.”

          “Jos Verstappen apparently had an argument with his 24-year-old ex-girlfriend. The paper says that he then deliberately struck her with his car, leaving her heavy bruises and abrasions. She was then taken to the hospital. Verstappen later reported to the police station where he was arrested.”

          “In 2008, the Dutchman was fined and sentenced to three months suspended jail time for harassment and assault against his ex-wife, former kart racer Sophie Kumpen.”

          “The former Benetton F1 driver was previously convicted of assault in October 2000 over an incident at a karting track in 1998 in which a man suffered a fractured skull.”

          If these are true, then apple doesnt fall far from the tree :)

          It all makes sense

          1. Hiland (@flyingferrarim)
            5th December 2021, 22:53

            @mysticus
            Lets be fair here and not say “apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” in reference to Jos assault history. From what we’ve seen, Max has NOT committed such a serious offense! As much as I dislike Max’s driving standards, he doesn’t seem like a bad person nor has a history of committing assault. Yes, he doesn’t take responsibility of his actions on track, but lets be careful with the insinuations here.

          2. “Max has NOT committed such a serious offense!” officially yet! When he crash/collide someone deliberately on track it is called racing incident, outside track is called assault more likely… i hope he doesnt carry it outside the track, but he doesnt appear to seem like he is someone who would care if he assaulted someone, and he said he would headbut someone in an interview about questions and he did say it angrily and not jokingly and he has shown enough aggression already so far… i hope apple falls far from the tree and not close…

          3. on a second thought, he is a very angry figure, and swears left and right anyone on his way, and he did assault ocon briefly but was left alone due to the heat of the moment… but again as you said, he didnt commit a “serious” offense… yet!

          4. Hiland (@flyingferrarim)
            6th December 2021, 2:57

            @mysticus
            Why are you intent on emphasizing “yet”? I get that Max will never receive the good sportsmanship award, in this life time. However, why give the insinuation that he will?

          5. @flyingferrarim
            i gave my reasoning as to why it has the utmost “chance” that it will occur.

            “i hope he doesnt carry it outside the track, but he doesnt appear to seem like he is someone who would care if he assaulted someone, and he said he would headbut someone in an interview about questions and he did say it angrily and not jokingly and he has shown enough aggression already so far… i hope apple falls far from the tree and not close…”

            again my reasoning continued

            “on a second thought, he is a very angry figure, and swears left and right anyone on his way, and he did assault ocon briefly but was left alone due to the heat of the moment… but again as you said, he didnt commit a “serious” offense… yet!”

            I dont know what is not clear? He is showing all the signs with his wordings on live tv interview and during race sessions and physical aggression on and off race (inside the track still) already. He has not exploded yet, but lets wait and see if he looses the wdc and his temper changes… his father already assaulted someone in karting, his own wife, his own dad, god knows what other stuff he was involved, and he raised his son, so lets wait and see and i hope i m wrong.

          6. Hiland (@flyingferrarim)
            6th December 2021, 21:55

            @mysticus
            Maybe its me, but I find characterizing him in that way wrong. Viewing him in such a manner based on what you have seen as “signs” is ridiculous. We judge character based on what he’s done. There are others that where part of his up bringing too and not just Jos. Look, I’m not big on Max and his attitude, but to also judge him based on his fathers past transgressions is wrong. Yes, he’s gotten in heated moments over his career (Ocon being the only some what physical one), but that just means he’s human. We are all imperfect! Schuey and Senna have done similar things as Max over their careers and did not translate to assaulting people. I would describe Max (similarly to Schuey and Senna) as overly competitive, even to his own detriment. Anyways, whatever, I doubt any reply on this would change your stance. I just hope you don’t see everyone in this world based on their faults or missteps alone.

          7. @flyingferrarim
            “Maybe its me, but I find characterizing him in that way wrong”

            Likewise, it is my opinion, and it is not a fact yet, and i do hope i m wrong, but he is showing all the signs he would be involved in one so lets hope he wont waste his talent image for good

            (he is talented but many times he is damaging his image with disgusting and entitled behavior, and never admitting any wrong other than confirming he is saying this or that in the heat of moment apologetically… point being he is calling names at anyone and swearing at them disrespectfully and when he does similar things he does not apologize or admit them and continues to do them)

          8. correction: he is saying this or that in the heat of moment not apologetically

          9. Hiland (@flyingferrarim)
            7th December 2021, 1:53

            @mysticus
            I don’t disagree with regards to his inability to take ownership of his errors/ways and child like behavior. That is one big reason I’m not a fan of him. Though, there is no doubt he’s very talented and I recognize that (many do). The reason I like Leclerc is he’s very self aware and willing to take ownership of his errors. If he cleans up his scrappy-ness at times (aka crashing), he’ll be tough to beat.

  25. When Max let Hamilton by, how did Max have DRS instantly? They weren’t near any back markers around at that point unless I missed it.

    1. János (@meandthewanderlust)
      5th December 2021, 21:23

      He let him by just in front of the detection line…

      1. Yeah, though the DRS wasn’t yet in the rules in 2008, overtaking the next corner after having given back the position is what Hamilton lost the 2008 Spa race win over @jimfromus, so that was probably not as validly a ‘clever’ move as Brundle seemed to think.

      2. Davethechicken
        5th December 2021, 21:39

        That manoeuvre of the immediate re pass received a 25sec penalty at Spa 08. It has been deemed illegal. Why would the stewards not be consistent with this?

        1. The 25 seconds, it’s a yoke.
          (Sorry, couldn’t resist).

        2. what was worst for the penalty that, ham actually gave the position back immediately without requiring nursery from the team… max even instructed by the team in the past refused to do it! what a gentleman!

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OISkvYS8ZVs

          and here ham got a penalty! 25 sec penalty, he didnt have any offers/gift cards, heck he couldnt even do anymore else as raikonen crashed all on his own…. but they did give ham 25 sec penalty regardless!

        3. Because that would be the first consistent thing they would have done this year?

          1. Mayrton

            also the key thing in ham case was they didnt hesitate in their decision! no debate, no offers/reviews etc… no consideration of rai’s driving, ham was off the racing line, and clearly let rai pass straight away, it was rai who drastically changed his trajectory and almost clipped the front of ham’s front wing right before moving onto racing line once and at the apex too…. ham lost the position soon due to a williams joining track and he had to get of the racing line and off track again! rai was constantly off the racing line heck, he drove twice in a row outside the track almost half a mile! and crashed as a result of his own doing. ham never had a lasting advantage! rai couldnt keep to the track to begin with. but maFIA is all over again, and i hope it is the same 2008 season ending despite all the unfair judgements, ham came on top…

          2. Also this! Couldnt be more appropriate even that day than today

            Former world champion Niki Lauda said that he did “not understand this completely wrong decision”,[45] adding “It’s unbelievable how the best driver in yesterday’s race makes no mistakes and only gets six points”.[45] He called for the formation of permanent race stewards, instead of the temporary steward system currently in place. He called it “the worst judgement in the history of F1”,[45] saying, “It’s absolutely unacceptable when three [stewards] influence the championship like this”.[46] Three-time world champion Jackie Stewart said that “F1 attracts the largest capital investment in sport, but it’s being overseen by people who are not doing it full-time and we get inconsistent decisions”.[47

  26. Hans (@hanswesterbeek)
    5th December 2021, 21:05

    Yeah. Don’t have the feeling I was watching sports today.

  27. Hamilton was a more subtle dirty driver when he lost to nico, now the shoes on the other foot and they’re on different teams so toto can’t referee. I expected a throw down on the podium :)

    1. János (@meandthewanderlust)
      5th December 2021, 21:23

      He also was a less subtle dirty driver – sometimes – when he won ove Nico!

      The 1st corner “incident” at COTA 2015 comes to mind…

  28. It’s never, ever, his fault.

    1. Never show weakness @john-h. Never ever. Congratulation Jos: you produced an incredible driver, but gave him a broken mindset.

  29. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
    5th December 2021, 21:12

    This championship is turning into a clinic. While fast, Max doesn’t look like he belongs in F1 whenever Lewis gets near him. If Lewis got 10 points for avoiding a collision, he would have 500 points by now and if Max got penalized, he would have less than Norris.

    Max should have been disqualified from the race and from the championship.

  30. Max was a naughty boy today.

    3 clear fouls I noted:
    1) Going through the turn 1 run-off at the 1st restart,
    2) Again going through the turn 1 run-of on lap 37/38,
    3) Then overtaking Lewis on lap 42 by letting him through just before the DRS point

    For #1, He got a FIA negotiation instead of penalty.
    For #2, he ended up slowing on the racing line causing a minor crash (do note that in Bahrain 2021 when he had to give back position to Lewis, he himself went offline; George Russell had to give back 4-5 positions in Hungary 2021 and it was he who went offline.
    For #3, it wasn’t even investigated.

    Max did get the rub of the green today. He of all people shouldn’t say he got penalized.

    1. János (@meandthewanderlust)
      5th December 2021, 21:21

      “causing a minor crash”

      So if you slow down massively on a straight under the green flag and your opponent slows down as well, keeps driving close to your gear box and then actually hits you, that’s your fault?

      1. If you are ceding a position, you have to go off-track. That is how lapping a backmarker works, that is how it worked for Max himself in Bahrain.

        But today, it didn’t.

      2. Hans (@hanswesterbeek)
        6th December 2021, 5:26

        @meandthewanderlust apparently yes, because I. The meantime it has became clear that Verstappen hit the brakes as well.

        Ugh, I hate this season. So many incidents and dirt. I really consider giving up on F1.

    2. Max unrightfully gained an advantage through turn 1 at lap 15 & 37 and was penalised. Then there was the miscommunication leading to the touch. That’s it. As for Lewis some provokingly unnecessarily slowly lining up and Bottas doing something that is against the rules as far as I know, but was strangely not investigated. But if you read this website it seems it was a WWE match. Maybe because the last 8 years were so processional 1-2 for Mercedes?

  31. Don’t drive like a clown you won’t get penalised, easy.

    Next….

  32. János (@meandthewanderlust)
    5th December 2021, 21:19

    “fumes Verstappen”?

    I saw his comment live, he was frustrated but certainly not “fuming”.

    1. He said that on the radio and I could only hear his tone but not see his facial expression. So, it’s up to interpretation.

  33. Letting someone back by it not meant to be done at the time and place of your choosing. Max is sitting in middle of track so Lewis has to go off line on to the dirty side as the approach the turn, the perfect place for Max to retake.
    Lewis did the same in 2008 but not so blatantly. He got 25sec for that, Max gets 5sec.
    How can the Max fans say the FIA are biased.?

    1. Well, the rules got changed, for certain fouls there used to be a drive through only in the past example, while now you also got as little as 5 sec.

  34. So max crashtappen wants to head to full season disqualification ala Schumacher?

    1. Is it that much of a loss? You don’t do anything with 2nd in the championship when you are verstappen, he can get 2nd every year he has a decent car.

  35. Marinated Monolith (@)
    5th December 2021, 21:22

    Verstappen might very well be the best driver of his generation, but as long as he’s in that Red Bull sphere with Horner, Mateschitz, and his own dad backing up every dumb, and often downright dangerous, move he’s making on-track, he’s never going to grow much as a person.

    And really, why aren’t the other drivers calling him out on his antics? I wasn’t around when Senna was still racing, but I remember Jackie Stewart calling him out in an interview from the documentary. Why aren’t DC doing this? Or Brundle? Or pretty much anyone working for Sky/Channel 4? God knows the FIA and the majority of the schmucks watching the race won’t.

    I mean, he was literally voted as the Driver of the Day! Of course he’s going to think he’s in the right here.

    1. Wow, didn’t know he was voted dotd.

      1. Nowadays they have this on air congratulations to the dotd @esploratore1, it’s always cringeworthy, but it was even more so today.

    2. In fairness have you seen the so called orange army? Max could have a DNS and still be voted driver of the day.

      1. Orange feces like yellow goons of Motogp(who are going to be thing of past thankfully).

    3. Marinated Monolith (@)
      5th December 2021, 21:34

      Dang, I mean Marko, not Mateschitz.

    4. To be fair @marinatedmonolith Brundle did call him out at the end of the race.

  36. The way the championship contenders have been barging into each other, and running each other off is indeed not what racing should be about. Sadly the FIA missed good opportunities to hand out race bans after Silverstone and Brazil.

    1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
      5th December 2021, 22:52

      Hamilton deserves a medal for all the collisions he’s avoided this season.

      1. Max really should learn from that, it would have saved him 18 points in Silverstone and he’d be champion already!

        He’s never had to fight for an single seater championship, and that shows now.

        1. He pretends to not care, but his constant anger/swearing added with his latest bump/tangle his wdc rival without hesitations shows all too well that he does care more than ever but for whatever reason he has brain freeze to compute the consequences…

          He still says i dont understand the inconsistency, i didnt get anything in brazil, why did you penalize me for the same thing this time…. like it was ok the first time around… god sake… this guy is seriously dangerous… hope he doesnt hurt someone on or off track

  37. Max needs grow up and fast. This whole driver of a day thing is a farce. If Max thinks he won driver of the day cos fans know its more of racing than penalties he is deluded. He is being enabled by Horner ,Helmut and Jos. The earlier he ditches his Dad the better for him. Jos trying to live his dreams through his son

    1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
      5th December 2021, 22:53

      He’s being enabled by more than that – he’s also a terrible racer.

  38. PATRICK ANSAH-ANTWI
    5th December 2021, 21:48

    Max needs grow up and fast. This whole driver of a day thing is a farce. If Max thinks he won driver of the day cos fans know its more of racing than penalties he is deluded. He is being enabled by Horner ,Helmut and Jos. The earlier he ditches his Dad the better for him. Jos trying to live his dreams through his son

  39. verstappen fans, the reason behind his dirty driving, poor Verstappen thinks whatever he does is right in the name of “racing”. keep encouraging and vote him driver of the day, he will get more dirtier. Real F1 fan supports his driver, cheers, criticize at times.

  40. the driver of the day vote is no longer worth anything…its a joke and a fuss to any serious F1 FAN.
    it needs to be discontinued , serves no purpose.

    1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
      5th December 2021, 22:56

      @spiderman it shows the intelligence of the average F1 fan and Max supporters…

  41. Abu Dhabu will be absolutely scary if Lewis and Max are alongside each other.
    That kamikaze Max driving style is exciting to watch but dangerous!

  42. OMG! I think given the comments I must have been watching a completely different race!

    So, Verstappen holds his position by going off track and after the team advises him to let Hamilton by, Verstappen stays to the centre right of the track and then as Hamilton approaches, pulls further to the right, to give more than enough space to Verstappen’s left to allow Hamilton to take position.

    At this point Hamilton hits Verstappen’s rear wheel and Verstappen decides to take off again. After allowing space for Hamilton to pass and getting hit by the person who he is supposed to be letting passed. At this point not only is Verstappen given a penalty, but, people are blaming him (including Hamilton) for brake checking, despite being well out of the way and by listening to the Verstappen’s PUnyou can hear he is nothing more than going through the gears and off throttle!

    Really and people blame Verstappen for Hamilton hittting the rear of Verstappen’s car?

    1. Comment all you like, I really can’t be bothered what you call me, I’m just saying what I saw!

      I am so sick of all the political BS around the season, that by some Hamilton can do no wrong and that Verstappen is always wrong!

      What I see is either people shouting incorrect racism or predjudism!

      All I want to see is racing with clear decision when something is wrong!

    2. @maddme “I think given the comments I must have been watching a completely different race!”

      It’s clear that you were, one that exists only in your head. Let’s hope you don’t actually drive, because you clearly don’t recognize erratic and dangerous driving. Your invocation of “political BS” clearly shows you are ideologically driven, and not interested in safe and sane motorsport.

  43. What a dirty dirty race.what are the stewards looking at.lewis us the most cleanest driver on thr track. I wouldn’t feel good about myself doing dirty driving it is not fair and puts him in the light of a spoilt little brat.whst do you expect with a father like he has.the boy is definetly not just an aggressive driver but a dangerous one.should have been disqualified.what goes around comes around the best driver one.

  44. Every sport has penalties Max, that how they keep discipline in sports. So if you dont like the penalties dont play it dirty. Its Simple.

  45. I feel like I’m being punked by the entire F1 world. They should have let HAM know that VER was giving the position back?! During green flag conditions? If Max’s powertrain failed, would HAM have waited for permission to pass? This is so bizzare.

    1. They were playing chicken over the drs line, max realised his plan wasn’t working and stabbed at his brakes. It only gets bizzare if you think the drivers are not biased and take their explanations as a valid source of information

  46. It seems to me that Hamilton and Verstappen are equally down and dirty. Hamilton is just a little more subtle about it. But Hamilton “steps in it” and is allowed to walk away clean, or relatively so. It makes it difficult to support either one of them.

    Where penalties are concerned; unfortunately, Verstappen is right. It is way beyond excessive. The only way I can see it getting worse is handing drivers five second penalties for neglecting to wash their hands prior to exiting the lavatory. I suppose we’ll have to await 2022 for that to be implemented. Can’t wait for the replays.

    1. @scss Hamilton did nothing wrong.

      Are you talking about Hamilton driving Verstappen off when Verstappen tried to stick outside on a lost position? Every driver takes the racing line when allowed that obviously and every driver behind knows they need to yield.

      Or when Verstappen braked so hard that Hamilton couldn’t avoid him on the straight?

      1. I’m talking about the 2021 season.

  47. Max has been doing this for years and the FIA has let him, he’s one of the dirtiest drivers I ever seen.
    He should have been dealt with more severely years ago and this is a result of letting him do whatever he wants.

  48. The problem with all the “penalties” is that they are meaningless and that means that Verstappen keeps driving dirty. In fact he’s just getting dirtier and dirtier.

    Verstappen caused 3 incidents on Hamilton and almost won the race because of it. Hamilton needs to dive out of the way for Verstappen’s do or die actions and Verstappen lost nothing at all for all his foul driving.

    At the very least the time penalty applied after the race should have carried over to the next race.

    1. the worst hasnt come out yet… i have a feeling if max looses lead in this race, singapore crashgate could very likely happen blatantly. not sure how FIA can handle this…

      say for example, tsu or gas suddenly loose power and pull over to the side of the track impossible to move easy, while MAX is way behind? SC ? free pit stop etc? or gas overcooking his brakes into turn one?

      they have done all the dirty tricks and penalized yet still blaming other party while claiming innocence… i expect any dirty laundry to be thrown in the final race

  49. @Keith
    You can better turn off comments for all articles. I am fed up with all these HAM lovers. Under every single article every comment is about how great this guy is and all the rest suck.
    He is the most overrated driver. You could have put Mazepin in a Mercedes, made him 1st driver, and he would have won just as many WDC’s as HAM.
    And stop comparing this guy to the likes of Senna, Schumacher and Vettel. The three WDC’s had stronger competition than this FIA assisted driver.

    And cue all the HAM lovers that have a comment in 3, 2, 1, …

    1. Congrats! You get my vote for Troll Of The Day!

    2. @steve

      Turn off the comments section because a significant number of people don’t share your view? I think that’s a bit draconian. You can just choose to leave the site yourself- I am sure there are enough Max echoe chambers out there in the Netherlands.

      1. or he could set up his own website “maxfans.bs” and rule it however he wants similar to reddit comments :)

  50. geoffgroom44 (@)
    6th December 2021, 10:10

    Kindergarten lesson: when you come into this kindergarten there are rules to follow.You know this when you come in.Get it,Max?
    Max is an amazing driver.No doubt about that.He has an intensity that is good for the sport.He tries always to push the limits and,of course, sometimes goes over those limits – as do many F1 drivers from time to time. This is what makes the sport so exciting.
    In the event, all his skills in this race, good or bad, where to no avail as the race was decided not by penalties,but by the tyres.The tyres.Max’s tyres were gone by the last 5 laps.All this other banter is just window dressing to cover up a bad strategy call from RB.

  51. Both guys tries to win a championship.
    Max do what he can with an inferior car, he race hard, honest and tough, sometimes over the limit of what is allowed. Not much complainings from his side though.
    Lewis tactics are more subtle, as over exploiting the distance between cars on formation lap and so forth, but seems to get away with these misdemeanors, except from Silverstone.
    I preffer the Silverstone Lewis, honest and tough, not this crying and weak version.

    1. Steamer

      “I preffer the Silverstone Lewis, honest and tough, not this crying and weak version.” but then Max/RedBul cried for weeks? He shot his own foot with his own move.

      Lewis used to have those tough moves early in his f1 career, but dont remember him blatantly trying to crash anyone? Did max really ever endured a ridiculous penalty like lewis did in SPA 08? Did Max really raced against someone like Alonso?

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