“Only I get a penalty somehow”: Max Verstappen bewildered at the way stewards have supposedly been scrutinising his ‘hard racing’ more than any other drivers

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is infuriated by how the stewards scrutinize his ‘hard-driving while supposedly letting other drivers getaway.

Max Verstappen has been catching a lot of flak lately for his aggressive driving style. The Red Bull driver had a difficult race in Saudi Arabia last week. 

While many still argue about the ‘brake testing’ incident between him and Lewis Hamilton, the stewards had their decision ready as they handed the Dutch driver a 10-second penalty right after the race.

The 10-second penalty was not Verstappen’s only punishment in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Before that came, the five-second penalty was levied on the Dutchman for going off the track while racing and gaining a lasting advantage.

Verstappen feels that the standards the stewards apply to him are different from what they levy on other drivers.

Also read:  Fernando Alonso stunningly accuses FIA of bias when it comes to giving penalty

Ahead of the final race in Abu Dhabi, which will also be the deciding race in this invigorating title battle between Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, the Red Bull driver once more voiced his frustrations with the decisions of the stewards in Jeddah.

“I think I’m racing hard and that I shouldn’t have been penalized for anything in Jeddah,” said Verstappen. He then mentioned how other drivers had had similar skirmishes while racing and have gone scot-free.

“Others do the exact same thing, but don’t even get a warning,” continued the Dutch driver. “Only I get a penalty somehow. That’s not fair.”

Max Verstappen will not resort to a crash

There has been much speculation if there may be an incident between the two title rivals on Sunday. If such an incident arises where the two collide, resulting in their not finishing the race, Max would be the winner as he has more race wins this season.

Also read: Watch Max Verstappen reacting to title-deciding 1990 crash between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna crash ahead of his winner takes it all Abu Dhabi race

However, the FIA has laid down the law ahead of the race at the Yas Marina Circuit. If any of the two drivers are found to have driven unfairly and caused a major incident between the two, the guilty party will face a deduction in points.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner promised the F1 community through an interview with The Times. He said, “Max Verstappen will not resort to crash tactics.”

The tactics he refers to are what Ayrton Senna employed in his title scuffle with rival Alain Prost at Suzuka in 1990. The penultimate race saw both the rivals crash on the first lap. 

Senna went on to win that year’s championship as the crash meant that Alain Prost was unable to score enough points to close in on Senna’s lead in the championship.

The Red Bull team principal also shared his views on Max’s capability to win this championship at Abu Dhabi. “He’s a better driver than Lewis Hamilton.”