Max Verstappen is adamant that he does not hold any grudges against the FIA stewards despite falling out with them in the 2021 F1 season.
The 2021 season saw one of the closest battles in modern F1 history. Verstappen went toe to toe for the World Title with seven time Champion Lewis Hamilton. In the end, the Dutchman dethroned Hamilton, but it came after a year full of on and off track controversy.
Verstappen and Hamilton clashed with each other while racing on several occasions. It often led to the Red Bull driver being summoned by the stewards, and being handed penalties. Throughout the course of 2021, Verstappen received several warnings and penalties from Race Control for his actions.
This led to many people feeling that Verstappen fell out with the race officials. With the 2022 season fast approaching, fans wonder if the 24-year still feels any animosity towards the stewards.
Verstappen was clear with his response to those doubts. He insists that there’s absolutely no problem between them and that they always had a good relationship.
“Overall, I had a really good relationship with the stewards, even when I saw them,” said Verstappen. “There is no bad blood there.”
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The most infamous incident in the 2021 was race director Michael Masi’s decision to allow lapped cars to pass the safety car before restarting the race ahead of the final lap. This presented Verstappen with a golden opportunity to overtake Hamilton, who was on older and harder tyres.
Masi’s decision making led to a massive meltdown between the Mercedes team and FIA with rumors of Hamilton retiring from F1 emerging. Many former drivers and millions of fans around the world seemed to be outraged by Masi’s verdict, and called for him to resign.
Verstappen on the other hand, recalls a similar incident at the Azerbaijan GP in 2021, that he feels people seem to overlook.
“There are always things, for example we are also looking at how we can improve as a team for next season,” the 2021 World Champion continued.
“It’s quite natural to look at everything. In Baku this year it was the same with Nikita Mazepin. For me, it was completely normal what happened.”
“Maybe people don’t remember it, but it has happened before. They have done it before.”
