Four-time F1 champion Alain Prost expressed disagreement with the way Max Verstappen's Austrian Grand Prix incident was handled.
Triple World Champion Max Verstappen received a 10-second penalty for his incident with Lando Norris during the 11th round of the 2024 season.
Initially, the 26-year-old Red Bull Racing driver received huge backlash because his hard racing with Norris put the McLaren driver out of the race.
The 24-year-old himself was furious right after the race, but after having some time to think about the incident and discuss it with Verstappen, Norris suggested it wasn't as bad and retracted most of his earlier statements.
Speaking to L'Equipe, Alain Prost shared his view on the incident that took place seven laps before the end of the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix and its aftermath.
"I don't think there was an aggressor and a victim. The crash was complex. I do agree with the verdict that Max was mainly responsible. He was penalised, although I think it was mainly an unfortunate racing incident."
Although he agreed Verstappen was predominantly at fault in the incident, the four-time World Champion felt the penalty wasn't justified.
"Penalties should not be handed out based on reputation, but on facts. It is not special that you try to close the gap on the left when the next corner goes to the right."
"That’s how you prevent someone from overtaking you, and it’s been happening for as long as racing has existed."
One of the stewards who decided to give Verstappen a ten-second penalty, Johny Herbert, later talked about how the stewards perceived it. It seemed they took into consideration the Dutchman's image and past incidents, which Prost doesn't agree with.
"Yes, Max is a very hard racer. That's in his DNA and isn't going to change. However, it also makes him so strong and he shouldn't pay the price for his tough image. Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher had the same reputation as aggressive drivers."
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