Following the US Grand Prix, there had already been talk about the rules around overtaking and how the drivers were allowed to race each other. Max Verstappen however took these discussions as an invitation to see just where the stewards would draw the line.
Ahead of the Mexico Grand Prix there was a driver’s meeting where the overtaking of cars was a big topic. The wording around overtaking was vague and this allowed Verstappen to get away with his daring moves as it is within the regulations. As the meeting came to an end, 19 out of 20 drivers agreed something needs to change. With this overwhelming support, the FIA is looking to implement these changes this year.
The Mexico Grand Prix saw a plethora of action all across the field with overtakes and daring moves being completed throughout the race. Some actions however, the FIA stewards were not happy with. Verstappen pulled two moves on Lando Norris that were deemed by the stewards as illegal. The Dutchman earned a total of 20 seconds in time penalties because of these incidents.
Max Verstappen responds to controversy around overtaking
Verstappen has always been racing hard and looking for ways to push the boundaries. During an interview, he was asked what he thinks about the incoming change in the rules.
“To me, nothing much changes about the way I race. The rules can always be improved and that’s what you need to strive towards. The rules are never perfect and I understand that. In Austin for example it’s very easy to drive offline and that’s where the issues start.”
LAP 10 / 71
Norris and Verstappen make contact twice in four corners and Leclerc gets through into second! 😱
“This guy is dangerous!” radioes Norris to McLaren 📻
The incidents have been noted by Race Control. #F1 #MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/DUA1ye0TKW
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 27, 2024
When asked about a possible solution, Verstappen continued:
“When there’s gravel traps you won’t see these issues since, if you’re on the outside you don’t want to risk going off the track and into the gravel. The same applies if you’re on the inside, you always approach with more caution in these cases. In some circuits with loads of space beside the track you see these problems and the FIA also sees this obviously. Maybe they want to start adding more gravel traps, if you look at Austria that really helped to fix the issues!”
Max Verstappen clearly is now going to change his style of driving just because of a couple penalties.
F1 Team principles respond to Verstappen’s 20 seconds time penalty
Toto Wolff and Zak Brown were vocal about the decision the stewards made during the Mexico Grand Prix and had the following to comment:
“A driver will always push to the limit and when the rules – or the interpretation of the rules – allow a certain way of racing, a driver like Max is always going to exploit it.”
Toto Wolff continued on the topic of overtaking
“From now on, you’ve got to leave space on the outside of the corner if the car is next to you. Braking late and dragging the other car out of the track whilst also driving off track – I think that’s not on anymore. That’s not allowed and I think it’s good for racing.”
🚨| Toto Wolff has commented on Max Verstappen’s Mexican Grand Prix penalties and how this will change the way drivers go racing in the future
Read the article below for all the details👇https://t.co/Ps1mTNSHHe#F1 #BrazilGP
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) October 29, 2024
Zak Brown, who saw his own driver at the receiving end of these incidents, said the following:
“[The penalties were] Probably not enough. It’s getting a bit ridiculous. So I applaud the the FIA stewards. Let’s just have good clean racing moving forward.”
Both team principals feel that Max’s penalty was fair and that the Dutch driver had it coming. Not just for the Mexican GP, but even the preceding Austin GP.
Do you think the penalties were fair? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.
