Another race, another display of Verstappen’s true colours. With Max again getting the green light for questionable driving tactics in Austin, its hardly surprising that we’d see more desperate moves from the Dutchman this season, but even I was surprised at just how quickly he stooped to new lows.
Austin GP
Max and Lando came to blows not for the first time in 2024. Austin marked the most recent flash point of the ‘championship fight’ this year with another critical and exciting racing moment decided in the stewards room.
Ultimately, the stewards deemed Max’s lunge for the inside to defend an overtaking Norris was within the guidelines because he was ahead at the apex; something that is very easy to do if you out brake yourself.
Norris was a nearly fully ahead as they got into the braking zone and only Max bleeding back off the brakes saw him hit the apex before Norris. With that box checked, Max owned the corner and was apparently entitled to push Lando out wide.
Questionable tactics for sure, but as far as I understand the current guidelines, this would be allowed if Max didn’t go off himself. That being said, for 2024 the guidelines the stewards are working with have been tweaked since last year and for some reason, the FIA has chosen not to publish these.
For decades racers have risen through the ranks without the need for such a definitive rulebook because it’s obvious that if you’re forcing your competitor off, that’s not racing.
However, in recent years the FIA have taken it upon themselves to try and codify wheel to wheel action and so far, the results have been completely backwards.
The Max Verstappen Rules
After years of Verstappen flirting with the limit and going well beyond it on several occasions, the rulebook had to be changed. 2021 saw the most egregious driving with several ‘yield or crash’ moments whilst fighting Hamilton for the Championship.
In hindsight, Lewis handled it the only way it seems you can, by fighting fire with fire. Countless occasions before the now infamous Silverstone incident Max went unpunished in pushing Lewis off track when he was certainly entitled to racing room.
Arguably with even less written rule than now, this was on the stewards and Michael Masi to curtail. And I truly believe had they got on top of it then, we wouldn’t have the problem we have now.
The crux of the issue is that if you try to define something as complex and changeable as overtaking, there will always be room for loopholes. Ironically, in a world with less rules, it becomes easier to enforce.
Any driver worth his salt could have looked at the incident in Austin and the two in Mexico and concluded that Max was in the wrong.
The wrong penalty
Turn 4 saw a repeat of the Austin incident but with one crucial difference. Lando showed he’d learned his lesson and dutifully stayed level (if not ahead) throughout the corner to the apex before being pushed wide by an overly aggressive Verstappen defence.
The stewards dealt with this correctly and issued Max a 10-second penalty. Notably, this season has seen pretty much the eradication of 5-second penalties as the drivers agreed last year 5 was too easy to overcome.
With Lando taking to the grass he was able to take the position Max fought so hard to protect. At T7 Max then didn’t try an overtake, but instead a deliberate, callous red mist moment that without drastic action from Lando would have seen a serious accident for the both of them.
Dive-bombing hopelessly up the inside of Norris having braked 50m later than previous, Max went sailing past Norris and at least two cars width off the track.
Max’s most loathsome attempt to end his competitors race since Brazil 2021 and arguably worse still than the San Paulo incident, as there was no chance in hell that the move was on.
The stewards saw fit to issue another 10-second penalty this time for leaving the track and gaining and advantage. For me, this is a gross underestimation of the incident.
Max didn’t just take back the position. It was a deliberate and calculated attempt to take his rival out of the race; a tactic normally reserved for online amateur lobbies.
Such a poor act of sportsmanship and reckless disregard for his competitors (see Monza 2021) should have seen Max handed a much more severe penalty.
I would have issued a stop and go penalty and a further 4 points on his licence. However, I suspect the telemetry could have warranted a black flag and disqualification from the GP.
If a deliberate and dangerous attempt to take a rival out does not warrant such a sanction what does?
Updates to the rulebook
The rumour is that the drivers met after Austin with the general feeling that the guidelines needed to be changed now, not waiting for 2025. 19 of the 20 agreed to immediate rule changes.
Other changes that are being discussed is having consistent stewards from race to race. This more so than updates to the written rules would ensure more consistency with what is and isn’t going to fly.
I would also like to see more retrospective decision making. Not necessarily that which would affect the outcome of the race, but an admission at the next round for instance that Max’s penalty was too lenient and upon reflection, this should have warranted a black flag or stop and go penalty.
Such communication would make it clear to the drivers that just because one similar incident went unpunished, you won’t get away with it again.
There’s just no need
The saddest thing about this is Max is an incredibly talented driver. He doesn’t need to resort to these kind of tactics and doing so puts a massive mark on his reputation.
He could have conceded T4, perhaps have got Lando back or at least hunted for P3, P4 himself and still more than likely go onto to win his forth drivers titles over the next few races. After all, he just needs to be close to Lando, not beating him every weekend.