Verstappen's Controversial Incident Explained: 'Being Nice Doesn’t Make You World Champion'
F1Thursday, 23 November 2023 at 06:00
Updated at Thursday, 23 November 2023 at 10:40
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:
"The stewards don’t want to be the ones to impose the penalty, they want to let the driver make the decision."
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:
"And there was a moment for Max to do that, but then the adrenaline was still quite high, and he was convinced that the corner was his."
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:
"It’s a rule that he knows is there. But on the other hand, when you hear that you’re already two seconds ahead, you think ‘Well, maybe I’ll take those three seconds also, so we will pass him at the pit stop. Then I’ll just run my own race."
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.
"You know, being nice doesn’t make you World Champion. You also have to be a bit of an a**hole sometimes."
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