Max Verstappen is not worried about paying his €50,000 fine for touching Lewis Hamilton’s car as he jokes about it when asked about the same.
There was a lot of controversy surrounding the two drivers after Friday’s qualifying session in Sao Paolo. Hamilton’s car was under investigation for breaching DRS regulations. On the other hand, Verstappen was called over to the stewards for allegedly touching the Mercedes car in Parc Ferme.
🚨 BREAKING: Max Verstappen has been fined €50,000 for touching and examining Lewis Hamilton’s rear wing after qualifying.#BrazilGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/1cUs5KYoYs
— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) November 13, 2021
Hamilton’s car was found guilty of infringement and he was disqualified from the session as a result. The Red Bull driver did not face any penalty for his actions. However, he was asked to pay a fine to FIA for breaking Parc Ferme rules.
The Dutch driver did not seem too bothered with this. After Saturday’s sprint race, reporters asked him about how he felt about the situation. Verstappen replied by saying that the fine was excessive.
I hope they invite me to their dinner, I’ll pay for that too, says Max Verstappen
Verstappen jokingly said that the FIA stewards should have a nice dinner after he pays his fine. “That is a hefty fine. Hopefully they have a nice dinner with a lot of expensive wine. They can also invite me to that dinner, I’ll pay for that too!”
Max on his 50000€ fine: “That is a hefty fine. Hopefully they have a nice dinner with a lot of expensive wine. They can also invite me to that dinner, I’ll pay for that too!”
— tami. (@Vetteleclerc) November 13, 2021
The 24 year old is also a very active player of the video game FIFA. He cheekily added that he would now have to spend lesser money on FIFA points. “So that’s a little bit less FIFA points for me then on my laptop!” he said.
Verstappen started the Sprint race on pole but a brilliant drive from Lewis’ teammate Valtteri Bottas means that the former will start from 2nd on Sunday.
Lewis had to start the race from 20th since he was disqualified from qualifying. But the 7-time World Champion was at his brilliant best on Saturday. He overtook 15 cars in just 24 laps to finish 5th.
The Briton will start from 10th on Sunday since he has taken a new Internal Combustion Engine that will be met with a 5 place grid penalty.
