Verstappen furious with 'irresponsible' Leclerc following Japan GP crash

Japan GP

Verstappen furious with 'irresponsible' Leclerc following Japan GP crash

The Dutchman's race ended early.

Paul Macdonald

Sunday 13 October 2019 08:33

Max Verstappen was furious with not only the conduct of Charles Leclerc but with F1 officials following an incident with the Ferrari driver that ultimately forced Verstappen out of the Japanese Grand Prix.

Leclerc started slowly off the grid and was passed by Verstappen into turn two, but Leclerc clearly ran into the side of the Red Bull, forcing Max to spin.

Max was sent to the back of the grid and ultimately was forced to retire from the race, as FIA officials announced that they would be investigating the incident, but only after the race has finished.

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Speaking to Sky Sports, Verstappen made his thoughts about Leclerc's conduct abundantly clear.

He said: "We had a really good start for once, that was a positive. And then I just stayed on the outside and suddenly into turn two, Charles drove into the side of my car.

"From my side I don't think I could have done anything different there. We all know that you lose downforce behind the car so that is not an excuse and I think he is experienced enough to know that.

"The weird thing is initially they didn't investigate it right away. My whole car is destroyed. The whole side. There are just holes in the side of the car. And now they will investigate it after the race. What more should he do to get a penalty?

"I like hard racing, but I don't think this was hard racing, I think it was irresponsible driving into turn two. He had a bad start so for sure he was trying to recover places but there's only so much you can do. It's a shame that it happens."

Verstappen doubled down on the decisions made by FIA officials, highlighting what he believed was an obvious false start from Sebastian Vettel off the starting line.

He added: "And then I was watching back the footage from Seb's start, I mean he moves, he stops, and the rules say you cannot move and that's fine because he didn't gain an advantage they said.

"I really don't understand what's going on today with the rules."