Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, 2019

Verstappen “annoyed” Hamilton did not get qualifying penalty

2019 Mexican Grand Prix

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Max Verstappen has queried why Lewis Hamilton did not get the same penalty he did in qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver was given a three-place grid penalty for failing to slow for yellow flags when he passed the scene of Valtteri Bottas’s crash at the end of Q3.

“While there rule is very clear,” said Verstappen, “the only thing I want to say about it from my side is of course there were a lot of comments about it and looking back for sure, I should have lifted.

“But then everybody should do the same. And I know [Sebastian Vettel] did the same. But one silver car didn’t and then he doesn’t get a penalty. That annoys me as well.”

Verstappen, Vettel and Hamilton were the three drivers who passed Bottas’s car after it crashed. “It is what it is,” said Verstappen. “I can’t decide for other drivers to abide by the rules.”

Hamilton’s onboard video from the incident indicated there were no yellow flags waving as he passed the scene of Bottas’s crash.

Verstappen clashed with Hamilton on the first lap of the race, then suffered damage when he collided with the other Mercedes.

“Lewis went around the outside of turn one and then braked very deep into turn two so I couldn’t stay there so I had to go off the track.

“And after with Valtteri I went up the inside and when I was alongside him I guess he didn’t see me so he was already turning in and then he clipped me on my right-rear.”

“We had a good car but of course with what happened in the first lap and then afterwards with Valtteri completely ruined the race,” he added.

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38 comments on “Verstappen “annoyed” Hamilton did not get qualifying penalty”

  1. But he was closer to behind when the crash happened.

  2. What about Verstappen not getting a penalty for overtaking Magnussen off-track? :)

    1. @michal2009b Indeed. That was a clear-cut case of a driver overtaking another from off-track, so should’ve led to a penalty.

    2. Yup, I was thinking the same thing.

    3. Magnussen slowed down a lot, if you look at the replay again, it’s almost like he’s letting him through. i don’t see how Max had a choice there

  3. Now I’m no expert but I’m gonna guess that the reason Hamilton didnt get a penalty is because he didnt actually do a faster lap…..

    1. You are wrong because he did.
      I’m guessing he didn’t get a penalty cause he lifted (enough) and the yellow flag guy was too slow.

    2. Blaize Falconberger (@)
      27th October 2019, 21:40

      I think he did, but not in the last sector, which showed he slowed? Happy to be corrected but I thought that was the case.

    3. No, Hamilton didn’t get a penalty because he was pretty close behind Bottas, and by the time the yellow flags came out, Hamilton was halfway through that marshall’s sector.

    4. Because he didn’t get the yellow flags in time unlike Vettel and Verstappen.

  4. Change nationality again Max.

  5. Verstappen being roughed up on track and having to go off it. Really isn’t fair how everyone can drive like himself now :o(

  6. W-w-waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa etc etc

  7. Boo Hoo Baby

  8. Lol the kid never learns. 1st when we do something stupid we keep low profile and our mouth shut (qual event)
    2nd you dont mess with the old farts (HAM) who gave to him a White Glove Treatment when he tried to squeeze him.
    I suppose he will learn eventually but as long his ego prevails his logical mind there is no hope.

  9. He didnt get one because yellow flag wasn’t out yet since he was close to the incident.

    Even Versteppen knows this, he is just bring petty. He is a great driver but he can be an idiot at times.

  10. Fan’s driver of the day…

    Biggest laugh I’ve had all week.

    1. It says a lot about who votes. It’s the young millennial crowd who post online and go online to vote during the race I watch it on F1 TV a lot but I’m not stopping it to go vote. 🤷🏻‍♂️. Max gets it far too often , undeservingly in my opinion and Hamilton would have to start dead last and drive the race in reverse and win to get it. They actually gave it to max in Hungary when Hamilton ran him down twice , the second time from 20 seconds back. I just don’t understand what he did in Hungary that was so amazing. He defended a couple of overtake attempts and it’s not like his car was slow. He did have the pole, after all.

      1. Verstappen deserved hungary as much as hamilton, mercedes was the best race car, verstappen defended as well as he could, and extracted all he could from the car.

      2. I cannot agree more. There is no doubt that HAM is absolutely driving his brains out in a car that is 3rd best on the race tracks. HAM wins because he maximizes his own and his car’s performance – while Ferrari and Red Bull find new ways to implode.

  11. Verstappen should lose his license and be sent back to kart racing since he doesn’t understand the basic rules of racing.

    All cars are on a Q3 qualifying lap so they are moving quite fast.
    BOT crashes. HAM is right behind followed by VET and then VER.
    By the time the yellow flag is out, HAM is passing the crash. VET gets the yellow approaching the crash so he slows. At the same time VET gets the yellow, VER is even farther behind and not to the crash, but he just ignores the yellow. Earlier today I said the penalty on VET was correct. I was very wrong. VET should have lost his license.

    1. @jimfromus I’m guessing you meant “VER” rather than “VET” on your last sentence

  12. Another race he throws out the window with the best car.

    But when it comes to call himself as good or better than Hamilton, he doesn’t miss a beat.

    He can thank God he got there so early that after so many mistakes he still 22 and with a long way ahead cuz if he were older, people would already be doubting him.

  13. Hamilton was so closed to Bottas that yellow flags wasn’t even waving. He reported to the media that at the moment he saw the accident was passing next to his teammate, so he hadn’t enough time to understand what was happened and lift off. Verstappen not only had a yellow flag sonner, he also saw with anticipation Bottas accident and he didn’t care.

    If FIA were more severe, Max would have ended with 5 points; 2 on the yellow flag and 3 for liying the first time to the commisioners on not lifting after the accident. He would have reach 12 points and his participation in Austin wouldn’t be required.

  14. I was very disappointed with Max ignoring yellow flags. But him questioning (I cannot believe he did it, he must be joking!) “why Hamilton didn’t get a penalty” is so foolish that I am speechless!

  15. Original Max is back for the second half of the season. Angry, impatient and crash-prone. This race alone he tangled up with Hamilton, Bottas and a Haas not to mention his qualifying blunder yesterday. The improved Max 2.0 which showed up for the first half of the season was a joy to watch but its worrying that the old Max is back again. He had the car to win today.

    1. Agreed. It’s very unusual to see a driver who has matured, un-mature all of a sudden. Can’t say I’ve witnessed it happen before. So I guess that’s ANOTHER record Max holds…

      1. Obviously everyone criticizing, what if he got frustrated with red bull not performing at the level they’re supposed to? Doesn’t excuse him for mexico but you can see the previous races, also red bull should’ve told him he had pole, slow down for yellow flags, doesn’t look like they did.

  16. Young American
    27th October 2019, 22:32

    Max – To are a fool

  17. It would be nice if you could have made Hamilton lift, but how?
    It is pretty hard to imagine how you would communicate the yellow flag faster, or set any reasonable standards for lifting before the yellow has been shown.

    So weekends like this are why, despite his speed and skill, Verstappen is still a step below Hamilton.

  18. Even if there was no yellow flag, it was safe to not slow down a little bit?

    1. Where the crash was, and coming round a corner, unsighted, there is less than 2 seconds – while you’re driving an F1 car at the limit – to recognize and react to the situation. Following drivers were advised but Hamilton was past before any reaction. Even so, I believe Hamilton did back off, but I could be mistaken.

    2. If there is an accident happening alongside you it can be safer for everybody to keep on the gas and get ahead of the accident rather than slow down and be where the accident ends up.

    3. Watch it again. When Ham sights Bottas, the accident is still in progress. Which is what I think Ham meant when he said he hesitated, and by then he was passed the accident.

      1. Watch the HAM onboards….he does not give a ….. about BOTTAS. Not once does he ask about BOTTAS. He only asks how far off he was from 3rd and the lead. He’s clearly upshifting in the turn where Bottas crashed. Strangely, none of the teams are warning their drivers of the crash and looking at the onboards over and over the yellow flag is difficult to spot on VER onboard when its quite easy to spot in VET onboard. VER has said he did not see the yellow flag but did see the accident and somehow I can believe that. Both set best sector 3 times with both improving their time in the 2nd last mini-sector.

  19. – no – yellow – flag –

  20. Verstappen overtook Magnussen off-track: why didn’t he get a penalty?

  21. And then his overseas fans started betraying him…

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