FIA take action after ‘DANGEROUS’ Max Verstappen incident at Mexican Grand Prix

Photo: © IMAGO

Mexican Grand Prix

FIA take action after ‘DANGEROUS’ Verstappen incident at Mexican Grand Prix

Max Verstappen was slammed with a major penalty in Mexico

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Monday 28 October 2024 08:27

The FIA have taken action after Max Verstappen's incident with Lando Norris at the Mexican Grand Prix was deemed to be 'dangerous'.

Verstappen was slammed with a 20-second time penalty, after he battled with Lando Norris during the opening stages of the race.

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The Dutchman forced his championship rival wide at Turn 4 which earned him a 10-second penalty, and then was hit with another 10 seconds for leaving the track and gaining an advantage at Turn 8.

Norris was quick to complain about Verstappen's driving over team radio, branding his rival as 'dangerous' a sentiment clearly shared by the stewards and Sky Sports' Martin Brundle.

Max Verstappen was slammed with a 20-second penalty in Mexico

Max Verstappen is characterised by his aggressive racing style

Is Max Verstappen's driving too dangerous?

"I had a feeling he would have something else coming his way. The first one was rude and cheeky, the second one was just plain dangerous," he said during commentary.

“That's just about a full pit stop, for a penalty."

As a result of the time penalty Verstappen dropped down the order following his pitstop, and he attempted to scramble his way back into the top ten.

The FIA's clampdown on Verstappen's driving comes after a controversial outing at the US Grand Prix, where the champion's aggressive driving style caused issues for Norris.

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris had a controversial battle at the US GP

As they battled for P3, both drivers went off the track with Norris taking the position after going off.

He was promptly slammed with a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, which saw him drop down to P4 with Verstappen extending his lead in the drivers' championship.

McLaren launched an appeal to overturn the decision, however it was rejected by the FIA.

The governing body have since revealed that they will consider changing the guidelines that allowed Verstappen to race tactically in Austin.

Max Verstappen Ferrari FIA Lando Norris Martin Brundle Mexican Grand Prix