Max Verstappen, totally unsatisfied with the officiating in Saudi Arabia, claims that Formula 1 has now become more about penalties.
On Sunday, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton had a controversial and tense battle at the Jeddah Corniche circuit. In the end, examining the series of events, the FIA instructed Verstappen to yield his lead to Lewis Hamilton.
Moreover, he also was penalized with a further five-second penalty. Furious with the decisions, Verstappen claims that F1 is more about penalties instead of racing.
2021 FIA Formula One World Championship
Round 21 · Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Title permutations
33 · 🇳🇱 Max Verstappen · 351½
44 · 🇬🇧 Lewis Hamilton · 343½#MV33 gap needed 👑 26+ pointsFL ⏱️ Fastest Lap points@F1 #F1 #F12021 #F1Stats 🤓 #SaudiArabianGP 🇸🇦 pic.twitter.com/D1XbUj6ihp
— Alex Stanger (@alexstanger1993) November 28, 2021
“Luckily the fans have a clear mind about racing, because what happened today is unbelievable,” said Verstappen. “I’m just trying to race and this sport lately is more about penalties than racing.”
“For me, this is not Formula 1. But at least the fans enjoyed it and I gave it all today, but clearly not quick enough. But still happy with second.”
Also read: Red Bull chief rejects Saudi Arabian GP verdict
Max Verstappen can’t comprehend what his rival wanted to do
On lap 38, Verstappen complied with the instruction that let Hamilton pass by. But the Brit ended up smashing his front into his rival’s rear-tyres. Hamilton later confessed that it was because of the confusion, as he didn’t get the message from his engineer’s end.
On the other hand, Verstappen said that he didn’t understand what the reigning champion wanted. “I slowed down. I wanted to let him by, so I’m on the right,” Verstappen explained.
“But he didn’t want to overtake and then we touched. I don’t really understand what happened there,” he added. Moreover, after yielding the lead once again to Hamilton, Verstappen admitted that his medium tyres weren’t good enough for the final battle.
“I’m not sure if the tyres were lasting to the end,” the Dutchman said. “I think it was good for the beginning for the end of the stint – the last stint, basically. Just lacking a bit of rubber towards the end.”
