Verstappen's Controversial Incident Explained: 'Being Nice Doesn’t Make You World Champion'

Former F1 driver and Ralf Schumacher shared his opinion on a turn-one incident between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc during the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen started the race at Las Vegas Strip Circuit from second place on the grid but got into the lead already after the first corner of the opening lap.

However, the way he overtook Leclerc was quite controversial. He went down the inside but could not brake his car enough, so he went wide outside the track, taking Leclerc with him.

The Red Bull driver then took the opportunity and continued on with his race in the lead without giving Leclerc his position back, for which he later received a 5-second penalty. Ralf Schumacher commented on the incident for motorsport.com:

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It is expected that the driver who gained a position illegally returns the position back, but that is often not the case in real life, as drivers are usually convinced they had the right to overtake. Schumacher continued:

Sometimes, drivers decide not to give the position back even if they know they will get the penalty because they think a 5-second penalty will lose them less time then giving the position back and having to overtake again. Schumacher explained:

While this might be considered unfair by multiple fans of the sport, Schumacher says being nice is not really the trait that makes somebody the World Champion.

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