Verstappen on Monza penalty: I still don't agree

Max Verstappen has reiterated his frustration that he received a five-second penalty following the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday which resulted in a demotion from third place to fifth place, saying he still doesn't agree with his decision as he was simply defending his position.

During the race in Monza at the weekend, Valtteri Bottas attempted to burst beyond Verstappen into third place, only for the Dutchman to swerve into the path, causing significant damage to the Mercedes car.

Verstappen complained at the time, and his mind hasn't changed days later.

“I still don’t agree with the decision,” he told Peptalk.

“Obviously I’ve seen the footage. I just defended.

“Of course, you try to make the space as small as possible so your turn-in to the corner is not compromised. We hit each other and maybe I could’ve given him a few millimetres more space, but he was on the white line.

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“In hindsight it’s easy to say ‘I should’ve done this or that’, but when you arrive at a corner doing 340kp/h, it makes for a whole different decision-making situation than when reviewing it on the video footage.”

Verstappen went on to suggest that receiving a fine for such an incident largely depends on who the acting steward is at the time.

“It depends on the steward,” he complained.

“Some will give a penalty, others won’t.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with the rules. We can talk about the incident for ages, but the decision has been made and I won’t lose any sleep over it.”

The Red Bull driver went on to joke that he still has time to earn even more, before questioning the guidelines for handing out the fines.

“I’ve only got five far, so I can add another seven. The penalty point system is a bid odd, but it is what it is.”