Verstappen Reacts To 20-second Penalty: 'Not Going To Cry About It'

Monday, 28 October 2024 at 12:30

Max Verstappen shared his opinion on two ten-second penalties that he received for battles with Lando Norris during the 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen's lead in the Championship came down by ten points after he finished in P6 during the Grand Prix at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

The Dutchman's finishing position might have been much better had he not received two ten-second penalties for incidents with Lando Norris that took place on lap 10.

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One ten-second penalty was for forcing another driver off the track. This is for the incident in turn number four when Norris tried to overtake the triple-world champion around the outside.

The stewards said they believed Norris would have been able to make the corner in a safe and controlled manner had he not been pushed out by Verstappen.

The second ten-second penalty was for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. The Red Bull Racing driver sent a dive down the inside on Norris into turn number seven, didn't keep his car on the track and didn't give the position back.

Speaking to the media after the Grand Prix, Max Verstappen didn't try to dispute any of the penalties that he received but instead highlighted the lack of pace in his car.

"You know, honestly, 20 seconds is a lot, but I'm not going to cry about it, and I'm also not going to share my opinion."

"The biggest problem that I have is that today was a bad day in terms of race pace. That was quite clear again on the mediums and on the hard tires."

"I just felt that the Turn 4 [penalty] was a bit more of, like, a question mark. Turn 7 is what it is."

"Honestly, those two things are also not my problem. The problem is that we are too slow, and that's why I'm being put in those kind of positions. That is my problem."

The Red Bull Racing F1 driver, suggested the battles with Norris just felt like hard racing for him and pointed out the difference between the stewards' decisions compared to the controversial incident with Norris from the 2024 United States Grand Prix.

"[Lando and I] didn't touch. So, just racing hard. But at the end of the day, everyone speaks for themselves [in the drivers' briefing]."

"Of course, can the rules be better? Maybe yes, maybe not. It's always the same thing. I mean, I just drive how I think I have to drive."

"Last week, that was all right. This week, 20-second penalty. That's what it is. Life goes on, you know. [The lead is] still 47 points. Hopefully, we can just be a little bit more competitive."