Max Verstappen accused of multiple FIA rule breaks after ‘vastly dangerous’ moves

Never mind Max Verstappen causing a collision with Lando Norris in Austria, Marc Priestley believes it was his actions after the contact that were “more dangerous” as they were “petulant” and “in retaliation”.

Verstappen and Norris crashed on lap 64 of the Austrian Grand Prix as the protagonists fought over the victory, “inevitable” contact as Christian Horner put it.

‘It was the worst of all the incidents of Max moving under braking’

Although Verstappen was comfortably ahead by more than seven seconds, a slow pit stop and a lock-up from the Dutchman opened the door for Norris to challenge for the lead.

He did so on several occasions, but was rebuffed by Verstappen before again trying into the Turn 3 braking zone on lap 64.

Going around the outside of Verstappen, the Red Bull driver moved to the left and the two cars made wheel-to-wheel contact with both the MCL38 and the RB20 suffering rear wheel punctures.

Norris crawled back to the pits where he retired his car while Verstappen was given a fresh set of tyres and completed the Grand Prix in fifth place to extend his lead at the top of the Drivers’ standings to 81 points over the McLaren driver.

He bagged P5 despite the stewards slapping him with a 10-second penalty for being “predominantly” responsible for the collision.

Priestley, a former McLaren mechanic, believes that was a just penalty but finds it “strange” that the stewards didn’t earlier penalise Verstappen for moving under braking in his defending against Norris.

“Friends outside of the car, at least they were until today,” the 47-year-old declared in his YouTube channel.

“One of the talking points in recent weeks has been how Verstappen and Red Bull have excelled under pressure. They have continuously delivered excellence in in every area. We rarely see mistakes from the team or driver.

“Yet today [Sunday] that was very different.

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“We saw a disastrous pit stop, which brought Lando Norris back into play. We saw questionable strategy decisions, although that might be a little harsh, and we definitely saw some questionable driving from Max Verstappen when he was put under pressure.

“It was almost like we were seeing Verstappen from years gone by when he came the sport, when he faced criticism for the aggressive nature of his driving, the questionable moves, the moving under braking.

“They even introduced a rule about not moving under braking cause of Verstappen and yet it was Verstappen himself who seemed to breach that rule, although the stewards didn’t seem to agree necessarily which I find very strange.

“If I look at those incidents, the ones before the actual contact, I can think of definitely one, possibly two moves where Verstappen in my mind was very clearly at fault.

“There were three incidents in question, one of them I think was fair enough. One of those Lando went up the inside, locked a tyre, was slightly out of control and forced Verstappen off. Max was forced off the track because Lando got it wrong and that’s what led to Max leaving the race track.

“The others, the moving in the braking zone… moving in the braking zone is vastly dangerous and that’s why it’s has been banned. The drivers are absolutely at the limit of their cars, they are tearing into the corner, they are braking at the very last moment.

“They are not just braking for a roundabout as we would in our cars with a little bit to spare, they are on the ragged edge, on the limit, they are trying to out-brake their opponent. They are trying to get every last hundredths of a second out of that car.

“As much as the car can give, as much as the tyres can hang on, as much as the braking force they are able to generate by stomping on that pedal literally as hard as they can, that’s what they are doing.

“So when you are in that phase and you are hanging on for dear life, hoping you’ve got it just about right, if the driver in front then decided to change their direction, move in that phase, there is very little you can do to avoid an accident.

“On the first occasion that happened, Lando did very well to avoid an accident and he came on the radio to complain, understandably. But nothing was done about it, the stewards certainly didn’t investigate it.

“On lap 64, the lap the collision took place, the worst of all the incidents of Max moving under braking. What happened was Max went for the inside line, which was great for Lando because he was braking in the rubbered-in gritty part of the track, he was able to do through the normal braking on the braking line but then what happened was Max moved over to the left and did not leave a car’s width. Therefore there was contact.

“I can’t see in any world that the stewards say that is not just an offense but it is hugely dangerous, and the 10-second penalty was, for me, fair but if it had been more I would have also argued that was fair.”

‘That I think is equally if not more dangerous’

However, it was Verstappen’s actions after the contact that most perturbed Priestley.

While it was immediately evident Verstappen had a rear puncture, Norris gained a few metres on the Dutchman only for Verstappen to move across the track to the right where Norris was and, according to Priestley, trying to “push” him off the track.

“But then it carried on because after the corner,” he continued in his review of the incident, “on the run down to Turn 4, at least it seemed like Max started to veer over and push Lando off the race track. Again!

“His car is out of control at that point, he knows he’s heading for the pit lane. Lando at that stage had a bit more grip as his tyre hadn’t let go and yet Max was still desperate to not let him pass. Almost it would seem angry it would appear at least, angry after the incident.

“That I think is equally if not more dangerous because that seemed petulant, it seemed like it was in retaliation. Now look, I’m judging this from the outside, but it seemed like the petulance we’ve seen in the past, like an immature Max, which is not something we’ve become used to in recent times.

“I have a huge amount of respect for Max Verstappen, the way he drives normally, and yet today that all seemed to go out of the window.”

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