Ex-F1 Driver Sides for Stewards for Setting a ‘Precedent’ With Max Verstappen Penalty at Saudi Arabian GP

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was full of drama, one incident that stood out from the rest was the collision between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.

The Red Bull driver was told by his team to give back the lead to Hamilton as he performed an illegal overtake. However, it was more complicated than that, as Verstappen braked which resulted in Lewis crashing into him and damaging his front wing.

The stewards weren’t happy with Verstappen and penalized the Dutch driver by giving a 10-second time penalty post-race.

Ex-F1 driver feels that stewards made the right decision with Max Verstappen’s incident

As the 24-year-old was trying to keep Hamilton in his rearview mirrors, he was told to give back the position to the Mercedes driver. However, Verstappen braked immediately which caught Lewis off guard; resulting in him ramming the back of Max’s Red Bull.

Many thought the penalty was harsh, but seeing the onboard footage of Verstappen’s car, Karun Chandhok feels the stewards made the right decision

Watching this clip, got to say the stewards were right to penalise Max.

It’s quite clear he deviates (wrongly) from the racing line to the middle of the track & braked unexpectedly.

I know the penalty doesn’t change his P2 yesterday but it sets a precedent for future races pic.twitter.com/94xn5wnfFw

— Karun Chandhok (@karunchandhok) December 6, 2021

He wrote on Twitter, “Watching this clip, got to say the stewards were right to penalise Max. It’s quite clear he deviates (wrongly) from the racing line to the middle of the track & braked unexpectedly. I know the penalty doesn’t change his P2 yesterday but it sets a precedent for future races.”

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The Dutch driver gives his point of view of the incident

The Red Bull prodigy was ordered to give back the position to his arch-rival. Verstappen agreed and began to make way for Hamilton to take the lead. However, the problem has gotten more complex than that, as Lewis rammed the back of Verstappen, to which the Dutch driver points to a simple case of miscommunication.

Formula One F1 – Qatar Grand Prix – Losail International Circuit, Lusail, Qatar – November 18, 2021 Red Bull’s Max Verstappen during a press conference Pool via REUTERS/Andrej Isakovic

He said, “They told me to give the position back, and so immediately when I heard that on the radio I just pulled off to the right, showing that I was going to move over, and I braked, downshifted, and he just stayed behind me. So I was just looking in the mirror and I’m slowing down and I think there was a bit of a miscommunication and he ran into the back of me.”

Now both the title contenders are on equal points, as they prepare to battle it out for the final race in Abu Dhabi. Who do you think will be crowned champion once they cross the line? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Read More: Denny Hamlin Confused By F1’s Popularity as He Points Out Hamilton-Verstappen Dominance

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