Max Verstappen has been handed a penalty after his Italian GP crash with title rival Lewis Hamilton.
The fallout of the stunning Italian GP saw discussion and debate over the Verstappen-Hamilton crash. The stewards from the FIA sided with the Mercedes driver on the issue, and announced that Verstappen will serve a three-place grid penalty at the Russian GP.
Verstappen may be regretting his aggression after hearing that, though given his style of driving, it was more a case of when than if. Both drivers are challenging each other for the WDC, and fully know that any minor mistake could prove costly. Given what happened at Monza, it’s safe to say that rung true, at least for the Dutchman.
Verstappen will have to serve a three-place grid penalty, which means his qualification result will be dropped by three positions for race day. He was also dealt two penalty points in his license. This means that Fernando Alonso remains the only driver who does not have a single penalty point at this point in the season.
Collision course
Lap 26 saw Hamilton and Verstappen next to each other after Lando Norris had gotten the advantage over his countryman. While trying to overtake the seven-time champion around a tight corner, he ran aggressively into it, and found himself deep into Turn 1. Even though he was off the track, Verstappen didn’t back down.
The Red Bull driver re-entered the track without easing off, at which point his car ran over a sausage kerb. Two seconds later, his car was on top of the Mercedes, after which he raged and walked away. Both drivers ended up retiring from the race after their cars took too much damage.
Until the Russian GP starts, we will definitely be hearing more of this from both the drivers and their respective teams.
Read more: Verstappen takes sly dig at Hamilton after Dutch GP – “I can pass Bottas because he is very fair”