Max Verstappen, Valtteri Bottas, Monza, 2018

Verstappen handed two penalty points after Bottas contact

2018 Italian Grand Prix

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Max Verstappen has been given two penalty points on his superlicence after making contact with Valtteri Bottas in the Italian Grand Prix.

Verstappen was under pressure from the Mercedes for third place in the closing stages of the race when Bottas tried to pass the Red Bull around the outside of the first chicane. Verstappen appeared to move into the Mercedes under braking and the two collided, forcing Bottas to take to the escape road.

The stewards investigated and awarded Verstappen a five second time penalty to be added onto his finishing time, which ultimately saw the Red Bull driver drop from third on the road to fifth in final classification. He was also handed two penalty points on his superlicence for causing the collision.

Verstappen was not happy at the decision, telling his team over the radio during the race that the stewards were “killing racing”.

Verstappen’s team radio after being awarded five second time penalty

To VerstappenOkay Max, we’ve been given a five second time penalty. So we’ll need to push on now. Push on.
VerstappenFor what?
To VerstappenDon’t worry about it, get your head down.
VerstappenNo, ‘don’t worry about it’. It’s [censored by FOM]. I gave him space. They’re doing a great job of killing racing, honestly. [Censored by FOM].

Verstappen now has a total of five penalty points over a 12 month period on his superlicence. Any driver who recieves 12 or more points in a single 12 month period will be banned for one grand prix.

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Will Wood
Will has been a RaceFans contributor since 2012 during which time he has covered F1 test sessions, launch events and interviewed drivers. He mainly...

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117 comments on “Verstappen handed two penalty points after Bottas contact”

  1. I can see why people like Verstappen, but his comment over the radio after making a crystal-clear mistake is embarrassing. He doesn’t have to plead guilty, he just needs to shut up and accept it for once.

    1. +1, well deserved

    2. Agreed. I think humility is genuinely outside his ability to muster at the moment (he might learn some in the future), but certainly he should be able to keep his mouth shut when warranted at this point in his career. But I suppose that’s wishful thinking also, because it would require him owning at least some level of culpability on his part, & so far he’s shown that’s outside his ability as well. Disappointing, really… I just don’t see him winning a championship behaving that way unless he’s in the fastest car by a mile, with a dud teammate sat across from him in the garage.

      1. Jan-Marten Spit
        2nd September 2018, 17:36

        What Verstappen does and does not do is up to Verstappen. You are not his father or mother, nor his mentor. You can disagree with him, but posing as if you are in a position to reprimance him or judge his character is a perfect demonstration of a lack of humility.

        “I just don’t see him winning a championship”

        He has already won many. So maybe Verstappen knows a bit more about winning than you do.

        1. I’ll be watching this space until he wins an F1 championship. I thought it would be obvious that’s the one we’re talking about… you know, given that he now races in F1, & this thread is about an actual F1 race just completed hours ago. But sure, be willfully ignorant & ignore all that… that makes waaaay more sense in your world, apparently. Also, I didn’t realize I had to be someone’s parent to be critical of them. I learn something new every time I visit this site… Lol!

    3. No, his comment on the radio is what we need more. Not just agreeing when it’s not obvious.
      We need more of this, comming front Verstappen or others.

      1. Why? To make all drivers seem like idiots? He made a mistake, pretty damn obvious one to anyone with eyes, he took his line for a turn when another driver was side by side, He caused a collision and refuses to accept it. That is beyond showing emotion, I like drivers showing emotion on team radio, but I and others don’t like seeing dirty drivers.

    4. Don’t agree at all. He left enough space. But hey, if everyone just wants to watch processional racing… Maybe they should just introduce a rule that cars must always remain a 3 meter gap between them..

      1. https://twitter.com/F1/status/1036256958209249280

        The white line is the official track limit. Verstappen’s car hit Valtteri’s. Pretty much cut & dry that enough room wasn’t left. I didn’t even realize it was still being debated.

        1. ehm.. no?
          It was BOT who steered and hit VER. Look at the different angels. No question about that.
          The question is if VER let enough space. According to the stewards not.

          1. You must be watching different footage to everyone else… At the time of the contact bottas was moving to the left of anything! Verstappen kept moving to the left too which is why they collided. You just can’t do that it is clear in the rules..

        2. +1 Just a bit of overkill from Verstappen, a little less and they’d have been no contact but Bottas would have been left taking a slower line into corner.

      2. For there to be enough room the Mercedes would have had to be well within the track limits at the point of contact. In fact the car was so far left that bottas would have had to leave the track to avoid the collision! It is nothing to do with processional racing it is simply bad racing by verstappen. Racing has to be fair and that means not pushing people off the track in the braking zone. That has never been seen as good fair racing even when it was ignored in the past. It is also potentially dangerous which is why the rule was brought in.

        1. Well obviously you haven’t seen Alonso pushing off Gasly and getting away with it.
          It’s inconsistent ruling. Stewards should not be involved to the race unless there’s a real safety hazard, crash or a (V)SC. I mean, they are racing, not knitting a sweater!

          Furthermore, during qualifying AND the race, the white line wasn’t respected at all, so track limit is not equal to the with line, but is the end of the green tarmac besides the white line.
          At the moment of contact (Bottas against Verstappen) Verstappen was already steering to the right, look at the slomo. Bottas was steering to the right, too, while there was still more than a foot of tarmac to drive on.
          Bottas didn’t manage to pass Verstappen during the entire race, despite +70BHP of the W09 and fresher tyres.

      3. He drove into bottas, simple as that.

    5. That’s what happens when the team refuses to correct Verstappen when he has obviously been in the wrong, sometimes dangerously so…..the only reason he hasn’t caused a catastrophic crash is because more veteran, wiser drivers have yielded to his nonsense. But that doesn’t make his nonsense any less messy, it just means other guys value their lives and careers, and steer clear of the wackjob calling itself Verstappen. He’s another one of these guys who never thinks he makes a mistake. In the final analysis, that may cost him dearly.

      1. Perhaps that’s the reason the top teams want to sign Verstappen? Because he’s so in the wrong and a messy driver?

    6. yet another skill that is learned through years of experience through the ladder of motorsport on the way to F1… oh wait.

  2. lol this is the driver they are placing their bets.
    Completely unnecessary move. He already had the inside. Bottas wasn’t going to overtake him, but he has to play dirty.
    Lost the podium for nothing.

    1. Exactly, completely unnecessary, Bottaa had no chance on the outside there anyway.

      And very immature ranting afterwards. I hope he changes his mind once he watches the replay

      1. Fer,

        Remind me where Ham passed Rai again for the win?

        1. Hamilton was actually ahead at the entry. He was also racing against Kimi who is generally an fair racer and and intelligent racer. As Hamilton turned in Kimi had to back off. Kimi also gave Hamilton enough space on the left. Bottas however was just about level and so as long as verstappen went deep into the corner he would have no real chance of overtaking. He put his car there to force verstappen to take a slower corner and to hopefully be able to take him at the next corner

          1. Anyone who watches this sport regularly (and is able to be honest with themselves) will already know that there are some drivers who are well known for close, hard but fair racing. There are others who are equally well known for regularly banging wheels in a dogfight. Alonso & Kimi more than anyone are famous for being the former. Danny Ric has had a recent run of scrapes, but he’s still on the list IMO. Today’s Hamilton is also a platinum card carrying member of the list IMO, but brand new Lewis used to be a wheel banger; but as I’m sure a lot of us recall, the stewards weren’t known to be kind to Lewis back then. None of his rivals were pushovers either. He tangled regularly with Webber & Massa especially. Today’s Hamilton is just as quick (if not quicker), but a lot more tactical & measured in his overtaking. He rarely takes unnecessary risks in attack & is supreme at defending. The statistics show that this approach has paid dividends.
            Drivers firmly in the camp of the latter are Verstappen, Perez, Magnussen, Grosjean… am I forgetting anyone? These guys seem willing to risk life & limb to keep opponents behind them. Uncompromising in attack & reckless in defense, IMO. Vettel makes too many mistakes in close quarters & when things don’t go his way (or when he’s under pressure), but he’s only ever been reckless when he’s mid-tantrum, IMO. It would be a stretch to call him a habitual line-stepper…

  3. He just couldn’t keep his head down…

  4. Utter farce. Bottas had space and put his wheels between the Red Bull.
    Charlie Whiting should have retired 10 years ago. He’s an unfunny joke now.

    1. Charlie doesn’t make these decisions.

      Decisions on penalty’s are made by the race stewards who this weekend are Tim Mayer & Gerd Ennser with Danny Sullivan as the Ex driver representative. There bio’s can be found here.
      https://www.fia.com/news/f1-2018-italian-grand-prix-race-preview

      1. @stefmeister

        He should override their decision. he should have gone after the USGP farce years ago

    2. Many do t agree with you, VER fans or not. It was clear as day. Moving under braking. He always tries to play it off as angle to Apex, and sometimes we just have to give him the benefit of the doubt…..but not every time. Deal with it. He is 20….what is ur excuse?

    3. Exactly. Liberty and FIFA clearly have to address this old mans game. It is becoming a joke and more a game for toddlers

    4. Don’t be ridiculous. I like verstappen but he was clearly moving to the left at the collision point. Bottas was as far left as it was possible to go! Verstappen clearly clipped bottas, not the other way around. To make it worse, verstappen did not need to at so rough as there was no real chance bottas was going to pass him in that move…

      Verstappen then stubbornly retained his position despite the fact that he had a better chance of finishing 4th by letting bottas go!

      1. “I know I’m losing time to Vettel; I really don’t care.”
        Max was as mad as a wet hen. ROFL.

  5. Ridiculous, like the 5 sec penalty

    Why do you have rules you need to give space? So when you leave space you still get punished.

    Nice hand

    1. @anunaki He didn’t leave him room. At the time contact was made Bottas had already had to put 2 wheels over the white line.

      There supposed to leave a car width between themselves & the white line & since Bottas had a wheel over the line Max clearly hadn’t done that.

      1. The green tarmac can also be used, or at least they use it when it suits them like in qualy.

        1. FIA doing their best to help Mercedes.

        2. @anunaki They can & do use the green painted tarmac, However the regulation around leaving a car width has always used the white line as the reference point. If a driver has failed to leave a car width between themselves & the white line it’s usually a slam dunk penalty, Especially if contact is made.

          Bottas got alongside & Max continued to squeeze him which was fair up until Bottas had to go over the white line at which point it’s clear Max hadn’t left enough room & then contact was made which pushed Valtteri further over & down the escape road.

        3. That strip of green is grass

          1. No it.s not!

        4. @Patrick Is that you Max?

          1. is that you Emilia?

      2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQ7AP6oIyz4

        0:22

        – VER ahead
        – BOT both wheels on the white line
        – BOT right rear wheel drives into VER left rear wheel

        If VER was HAM, VET or anyone else and BOT was VER, everyone would be putting the blame on VER.

        1. Haha did you saw the video you posted…? now it is the Bottas that drives into Ver when Bottas just stays there.

          1. Greater speed, coming from behind. If BOT was VER, everyone would be shouting “he should have backed out”.

          2. How the hell can you factor in the forward motion of Valtteri’s car but completely ignore the lateral movement of Verstappen’s car coming across the track as the one initiating the contact? The steering angle on Bottas’ car changes once, only slightly after he starts his braking & that’s away from Verstappen who’s coming more than a car’s width across to close the gap.

    2. mad max was so mad with the stewards. enjoyed the radio haha.

  6. No Max, the FIA is not killing racing, defensive moves like that might kill drivers, marshalls, or spectators.

    Also, hasn’t this same topic been discussed quite a few times in the past years: no moving under braking, or if you do, leave enough space for the other car.

    1. efensive moves like that might kill drivers, marshalls, or spectators.

      if so, please give some proof.

      1. Btw OP said might not will…

      2. @erikje. Which part of MIGHT don’t you understand?

        1. The moon MIGHT be made of blue cheese.

          See how useful that is?

        2. That’s what i expected.. Moi has right..

      3. Are you honestly asking for proof that hitting each other at high speed with wheels going over each other is not potentially totally dangerous? I think you need to watch more F1 to understand the sport… Under braking there is also less chance of a driver managing to react to avoid contact which is why the rule is in place!

    2. Jan-Marten Spit
      2nd September 2018, 17:55

      “Also, hasn’t this same topic been discussed quite a few times in the past years: no moving under braking”

      Agreed. All F1 circits should be made straight. Racers have always moved under braking, and they still do. Lets keep it that way, so when can keep calling it racing.

      Overtaking is very dangerous. Cars may collide because of it, and debris may fly among the spectyators, some of them children. As you are an advocate of overtaking, are you saying you want children to die? I don’t like people who want children to die.

      Don’t play the Max kills people card. It’s revolting and pathetic.

      1. Don’t play the Max kills people card. It’s revolting and pathetic.

        +1 I agree. I can only think of one example of where the accusation sticks in Formula 1, namely Schumacher playing with Barichello’s life against the pit will at Hungary 2010. Racing is dangerous, drivers make mistakes, drive foolishly or recklessly. But deliberately risking someone’s life, no. Only Schumacher has that dishonour. Which is why I look forward to the day all his records are finally broken and he can be demoted from a position he has no right to hold.

        1. Talking about pathetic.

  7. BOT was late in to the first corner. VER was taking his line, but tighter than norm. Racing incident at worst.

    Happy for all drivers to speak their mind.

  8. It was a good move indeed. However still Verstappen is not in competition with vettel over penalty points. 😂

  9. And I thought he had already got rid of that ‘not taking responsibility for his actions’ attitude especially after the Chinese GP, but in the end, it’s still there after all.

    1. Attitude? It was bottas’ fault for existing. Jk. Maybe ma. Just doesn’t have the skill to not hit others.

  10. I thought it was an honest mistake where Jos didn’t think Bottas would make a move and as he approached the corner he moved over to the racing line. But for him to say I gave him room when they obviously touched makes him look petulant. It doesn’t look good for RB when the driver they are banking on throws away the 4th place points to make a point and finish 5th.

    1. @velocityboy, Did you just say Jos? In what era do you all live in? Afaik we are now living in 2018 and afaik most of you here have never ever made a lap in a racecar (I have a 24h winner in my garage and live next to a racetrack) so what do you all know about a racers ‘split second decission’ and most of all about RB’s race policy? A true racer has only 2 things in his mind; 1 stay in front of the one behind you and 2. eat the one in front of you…. It’s racersblood, deadsimple….

      So staying in your mindset of decades ago Velocityboy: Maybe Max is the new Hunt? (without alcohol and with a better future written in the stars). And just to remember: Hunt was also prone to criticasters like most of you but he prove to be brilliant on the tracks.

  11. Verstappen is a proper racer – Bottas is a pathetic Mercedes rent boy and Hamilton lackey – hopeless excuse of a man. Kimi is the pride of Finland – Bottas is the ride of Finland.

    1. Verstappen came 5th today, Bottas came 3rd. Verstappen is his worst enemy. the record books will reflect Verstappen placed worst than the Mercedes “rent boy”.

      1. Mercedes being the key word here…

        Like Max said, if it would have been eiher Hamilton or Vettel they’de would have overtaken me easily in the beginning of the race, it took Bottas 40 laps and he still hesitated wich led in to such awkward situations….

  12. Bottas’ front wheel was on the outside of the white line at the point of contact, so it’s an obvious penalty to me.

    1. I do see it a bit different. Ver didn’t move but je was committed to make the corner. Bottas braked a bit late, nothing fancy, but by doing so came alongside Ver. I don’t are anything on purpose by either so i would say racing incident.

      1. Argree with Jeroen here. Racing incident.

  13. Completly agree with Max. I dont like this new kind of racing. Senna would turn over in his grave. DRS and with everything jou try to hold position of is a penalty. F1 had become a big joke

  14. Completly agree with Max. I dont like this new kind of racing. Senna would turn over in his grave. DRS and with everything jou try to hold position of is a penalty. F1 has become a big joke

  15. I do see it a bit different. Ver didn’t move but je was committed to make the corner. Bottas braked a bit late, nothing fancy, but by doing so came alongside Ver. I don’t are anything on purpose by either so i would say racing incident.

  16. Verstappen proving once again that he is unpassable… at least not without retiring. Not sure what he’s doing in a Red Bull but, boy, have they possibly shot themselves in the foot.

    Maybe he’ll be great someday. 90% chance he will not be Rossi or Marquez but Iannone. Any driver in the paddock has a chance to grow into a Senna but few ultimately do. I think Verstappen will ultimately be the one who chooses but the choice is not easy. He can’t change who he is and he’s without a doubt a super rat who was handed everything like Stroll. A little menial work carrying boxes at Red Bull might teach him more than anything.

    I would send him to the garage for 3 months helping the team to understand what it means to drive for Red Bull.

    1. You’re on to the core I think.
      The signal given by Senna and Schumacher is that to be succesfull in F1, you need to play outside the rules. Penalties can subsequently be avoided by raging at the referee and competitors. Just like McEnroe did in tennis.
      Just like a certain president does in politics.
      VES is a typical exponent of that. Some others have it too: HAM and VET for example. BUT, RAI never seemed to suffer from it, ALO simply believes his own hype.
      He / they will never change – not even should someone lose their lives because of it – since in their head, this is the only way. This is how they were raised. This is why I’d prefer to watch F1 roboracing.

    2. Sure that RedBull is 100% happy with him and others really would like to have him. This is 100% racing spirit. If others can’t take it, they maybe shouldn’t be in F1. And still, even if 100% of the world would agree he was at fault he still sends out a message that will benefit him in the future: you will never pass me around the outside. You can try, but you have to be willing to accept a possible DNF. Me personally would never want to watch drivers that do not have that attitude. Unfortunately there are quite some and there lies the real problem. Whiting has adjusted to these less gifted drivers and the interests of the big companies. He killed the soul of driving and should consider retiring as he has proven once again to not be able to lead his team.

      1. Haha, this is the argument you see time and time again in e racing just after a player gets banned for constantly t-boning others. The proof of the pudding is in how quickly these drivers cry foul and point the finger at everyone else when someone makes contact with them. That’s when you know, so tell me young man, if I scroll back to Singapore last year, will I find your username condemning all those shouting at raikkonen when he took Max out, or will your silence tell us all that you are a base hypocrite?

      2. Yes, except for “outside”. His message is nobody is to pass him or he will try run them off the track.
        He has been doing that since his first F1 race and all other drivers know it. And they’re his equal so they are not impressed.

  17. I meant Brat, not Rat

  18. A bit unnecessary from Max, as he could have left Bottas a bit more room. However I think Bottas move was equally optimistic (as he wasn’t fully along side when they touched). 5 points is a bit harsh. Value for penalty points, you’d rather miss the breakingpoint at the start by a mile and get rid of 4 cars altogether.

    1. He was partially alongside but wouldn’t have made a pass stick.
      The collision was 100% Max’s fault, and had he just taken the corner would have held his position.

      The kid is a liability, though a fast one.

      He will win a few races, but never a championship unless he changes his attitude.
      Reminds me a lot of Vettel with the wheel to wheel mistakes, but without the car to be winning regularly in clear air.

      1. Both Hamilton and Vettel had more contact with other drivers than Verstappen had this GP.
        Hamilton was very lucky to get away clean… Vettel not so much.

        It was good racing, more of that please

    2. +1

      Again a message from Max that you have to fight. I like that approach. However, this was just a tad to much. The move looked like the incident at Monza with Massa.

  19. Formula one is becoming a gay sport with these penalties.

    1. Exactly. This has become a serious threath to the sport. A disgrace once more from Whiting and his team. Very worrying stuff. Old guys not being able to see the evolution of racing. At Spa you could clearly see Ocon and Ver battling it out new school. Time for the old gang to make way for some serious racing. This is supposed to be F1, not some little league

    2. Come on, now it’s a little touch, but this will evolve in nasty driving if you won’t do anything about it. Verstappen closed the door to fast. Also, it isn’t that clever. If Bottas missed his breaking point then the hit would’ve been harder and probably took Verstappen out.

      1. You cannot judge a situation on what it might involve into. Then you really have the wring occupation as a stewart and should rather become a teacher or something

    3. a gay sport

      What?

  20. Verstappen breaks the Verstappen rule and gets penalized. Nothing to see here, move along please.

    1. There is no Verstappen rule active. It was taken off the rule book. So clearly that cannot have been a consideration

  21. Boy needs to grow up a bit.

    1. Race control need to evolve a bit

  22. He made a mistake according to the stewards, got 5secs and 2 penalty points for it. Nobody got hurt. That is what happened. Nothing more.

    I still rather see Verstappen racing with passion than yet another dull DRS overtake. He does not care about finishing 3rd, 4th or whatever place. He wants to win, because he is a racer. One of the few left on the grid. I like that.

    1. Yeah it’s a shame that so many of the best pilots in all of racing don’t care to win. I heard kimis mom couldn’t get him to even wake up for the race because he is so disinterested. She had to pour cold water on him.

  23. A pity these kind of penaltys.
    let the boys solve the problems themself. Like Alonso did yesterday.

    1. Yeah Alonso great problem solver. … Both laps ruined. What a genius.

  24. He made a mistake. But I feel he stayed a racer by keeping Bottas behind. Besides he knows he can’t win the championship so it doesn’t sound so illogical to me that he kept fighting.

  25. Von Smallhausen (@engelbertvonsmallhausen)
    2nd September 2018, 18:03

    Does anybody know the exact rule (paragraf) on which Max recieved the penalty? Having an argument with someone (I agree with the penalty).

    1. Involved in an incident as defined by Article 38.1 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations.
      5 Second Time Penalty
      (2 penalty points awarded, 5 points for the 12 month period)

      The Stewards reviewed video evidence and determined that Car 33 moved over into Car 77 at the entry to Turn 1 and caused a collision.

      Competitors are reminded that they have the right to appeal the decisions of the Stewards (with the exception of those referred to in Article 12.2.4 of the FIA International Sporting Code), in accordance with Article 15 of the FIA International Sporting Code and Article 9.1.1 of the FIA Judicial and Disciplinary Rules, within the applicable time limits.

      1. Von Smallhausen (@engelbertvonsmallhausen)
        2nd September 2018, 18:58

        Thanks!

  26. Those who said he ‘might kill someone’ he’s in good company.
    And the only thing that changed for Hamilton was he got a dominant car that usually keeps him out of trouble.
    Max wont need to change a thing if Honda match Merc on power. He’ll be winning from pole like Hamilton and Rosberg did.

    https://www.crash.net/f1/news/170305/1/hamiltons-driving-will-end-in-someone-getting-killed

  27. That’s what i expected.. Moi is right..

  28. Finally the little Villain gets punishment for his actions. This and Gasly is the future of RBR. Dark ages for Red Bull for sure. Maybe they should look to drivers outside RBR.

  29. Max had already been warned that he only just got away with the bypassing the chicane move earlier in the battle so I’m not surprised he got a penalty.

    He is a very good driver and will one day be great but must frustrate the hell out of red bull sometimes.

  30. Lucky bottas caught up because I’m sure he lost more than 5 seconds from that incident

  31. I wonder if Max had made an obvious point of pulling to the side and letting Bottas pass him..after the little ding dong between them…..would the stewards still have given Max the 5 secs penalty……I would like to think not…..and Max could have stayed 4th

  32. some had to bottle up a lot of frustration those last races i see.
    But they seem to forget VER was one of the actors who build the show today.
    And it was a very nice show indeed ;)

  33. Bypassing the chicane earlier didn’t influence VER time-penalty one bit!

    The time penalty of Verstappen was unfair en also the points the got.
    It was a racing-incident.

    Bottas cockpit camera had not a good perspective, but the camera on the track had.
    Bottas front wheel was at the moment of contact on the white line, not over.

    The time-penalty was for one reason only!

    To give Vettel a shot at a p4 or even a podium.
    That’s what’ he got. p4 instead of p5 and a chance for p3 (then even p2 with a swap).

    Good for the championship, good for Monza & Ferrari!

    Bad for the sport!

  34. Reading the comments on here I can’t believe how so many people are defending Max, it just shows how blinked people can be to the cold hard facts when it involves their favourite driver. Leaving space means leaving enough space for another car to fit there without touching, not just nearly a cars width… it’s a slam dunk black and white case. Put your biases to one side please.

    1. +1
      All that disintegrating carbon on impact says it all. Never seen anyting like it. I think the stewards missed some action earlier on in the race. Glad they woke up.
      Verstappen should be banned by the FIA for his life for actualy racing during a grand prix weekend. He will never learn.

    2. Yes, this is as clear-cut and by the books as it gets. Actually, I hadn’t even realized until earlier this year that the regulations explicitly state one car’s-width—it’s not open to interpretation.

  35. I see a massive orange mist in many of these comments. Reality often gets lost in an orange mist.

  36. Utterly dreadful racecraft from Verstappen. Pettiness and immaturity costing him an additional place. If he had the correct mentality by letting Bottas through and not wasting time defending from the Finn, he could have finished fourth. Keeps plummeting in my estimations.

    1. “the correct mentality by letting Bottas through” and “dreadful racecraft”…somehow doesn’t go good in one sentence.
      F1 is about racing, not about collecting points…

      Verstappen could have had a clean sheet, zero incidents this season by settling for P6 each and every race…just let Ricciardo win the quali battles and save the engine. Verstappen would be looking at 13 x 8 points = 104 points… guess racing does pay off in the end

  37. It does not make any difference to RB or Max whether he ended 3rd, 4th or 5th. Had he let Bottas past, he would have ended 5th anyway as both Max and RB have explained post race.

  38. I can’t wait to see RBR implode in 2019 without DR.
    Max is a PR nightmare.

    1. Won’t happen…don ‘t see a lot of DR lately so he can be missed.

      And sorry….but don ‘t you see a lot of orange and (RBR)blue at the tracks.

      Max has boosted attendance and is the first driver to have his own village at the track.
      Also companies are queing for marketing deals.

      Ask liberty if he is a pr nightmare.

      Though i will miss the vids with DR and VER next year.😉😉

  39. You can love him or hate him, it’s great he stirs thinks up! Twenty years from now he will have surpassed HAM, VET, and the legendary MSC! He’s clearly majured since Monaco, that’s why RIC is heading to Renault, next time he will leave 0.5 m more space to the left. In his reactions he’s still a 20 year old, but his racecraft is and will be growing for many more years!

    1. @melbourne 96😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 I think you’ve been hanging around too many Amsterdam Cafes

  40. Wait, are people seriously trying to blame Bottas because he tried to outbrake Verstappen? Like anyone would need to do to overtake?

    What the hell? Verstappen didn’t leave enough room on the outside, which he HAD to do according to the rules even if Bottas wasn’t alongside, and he was (although not completely, there was a significan overlap). Max moved to the inside to defend and then went to the outside. He didn’t leave enough room because Verstappen went enough to the left that there was longitudinal wheel contact. All this while Bottas was already on the white line.

    Seriously, the level of obliviousness of some claims is quite amazing.

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