2 weeks Ago By Jamie Woodhouse
Max Verstappen was “not going to cry about” his 20 seconds worth of penalties in Mexico, as Red Bull’s pace is his “biggest problem”. Verstappen received a pair of 10-second penalties for incidents with title rival Lando Norris early in the Mexican GP, first at Turn 4 and soon after at Turn 8. The first penalty was for forcing Norris off the track, while the second was for leaving the track and gaining an advantage as Verstappen returned to the circuit ahead of Norris.
Additional reporting by Elizabeth Blackstock While Norris had five seconds added to his race time in Austin after having been adjudged to have left the track and gained an advantage versus Verstappen, this time it was Verstappen punished, and more severely, so the Championship leader was asked for his take? He would reveal Red Bull’s pace to be the actual problem worth his attention. “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,” Verstappen told the media including PlanetF1.com.
“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 tyres.” Asked how close he felt he was to making the corner at Turn 8 without going off, Verstappen replied: “I just felt that the Turn 4 was a bit more of like a question mark.
Turn 7 [sic] is what it is. “And 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 was my problem.” Verstappen ultimately finished P6, while Norris was runner-up to race winner, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. “I mean, to get back to sixth was alright, but then I couldn’t even fight the Mercedes cars in front,” Verstappen added.
“I just had no grip. I was just sliding a lot. I couldn’t brake.
So, yeah, it was a very tough one.” As for whether he thinks Red Bull can get on top of these issues with the RB20 before the season ends, Verstappen responded: “I mean, we’re trying, but I mean Austin was more promising, here again was a bit more tough. “So, it’s a bit odd.
But a few things to look at, and hopefully, of course, Brazil, we can be more competitive.” 👉 F1 schedule: When is the next F1 race and where is it being held? 👉 Top 10: The drivers with the highest win percentages in F1 history Earlier in the Mexican GP weekend, it emerged that the FIA would alter the F1 racing guidelines following the Verstappen and Norris Austin fireworks, so Verstappen was asked if he will just drive to whatever guidelines he is given? “I mean, I just drive how I think I have to drive,” he said. “Last week that was alright, this week, 20-second penalty.
That’s what it is. Life goes on.” And Norris’ title hopes go on, having taken 10 points out of Verstappen’s Drivers’ Championship lead to make it 47 with four rounds to go.
But, Verstappen is not getting concerned. “Still 47 points,” he stressed, “so hopefully we can just be a little bit more competitive.” Read next – Lando Norris’ first words on ‘not very clean’ Verstappen after latest Mexico GP clash.
