Verstappen Called Out By Brundle: 'Not Fair Or Smart Of Him At All'

Tuesday, 10 December 2024 at 19:00

Former F1 driver and Sky Sports commentator Martin Brundle discussed a mistake that Max Verstappen made during the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Red Bull Racing F1 driver Max Verstappen started the 24th round of the 2024 season at Yas Marina Circuit from P4, and with a good launch off the line, he gained one position right away.

With the Drivers' Championship in his pocket and the Constructors' Championship out of reach, it was clear that the 27-year-old had nothing to lose, and it showed as he went for a big dive on Oscar Piastri into the first corner, wanting to gain another position on the opening lap.

Unfortunately, the McLaren driver seemingly didn't see him, and by the time Verstappen realized there would be a collision, it was too late to back out of his move.

After hitting Piastri's rear wheel, Verstappen spun around both himself and the Australian driver. However, while it meant nothing for the Red Bull Racing driver, every single point in that race was invaluable for Piastri, who still fought for the Constructors' Championship.

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Consequently, the McLaren driver lost much more as a result of the crash with the four-time World Champion. Discussing the incident in his column for Sky Sports F1, Martin Brundle wrote:

"McLaren needed all their experience and calm when at the very first corner of the race Max Verstappen sliced his Red Bull up the inside second-place man [Oscar] Piastri, and they made contact, both heavily losing out with Piastri falling to the very back."

"Verstappen claimed he was fully alongside, but he wasn't. Perhaps Piastri could have left a bit more space, but I doubt he saw the late lunge."

"Ayrton Senna famously said that if you don't go for a gap you're no longer a racing driver, but Max really didn't need to take that 50/50 risk for either of them."

Ultimately, stewards gave the Red Bull Racing F1 driver a ten-second penalty, despite the fact that the incident took place on the first lap, which tends to be a mitigating circumstance.

"After he received a 10-second penalty, angry Max in the car called the stewards "stupid idiots" which is not fair or smart of him at all, but calmer Max after the race went to apologize to Oscar and McLaren."

Speaking to the media after the Grand Prix, Verstappen said it was most important for him to apologize to Oscar Piastri right after the race, as he really didn't want to have that collision and also didn't want to go into the winter break with any weird feelings.