Montoya suggests Verstappen treated favourably after escaping Hamilton penalty
Montoya suggests Verstappen treated favourably after escaping Hamilton penalty
Former F1 title contender Juan Pablo Montoya has questioned whether Max Verstappen is given preferential treatment by the FIA after not being penalised for his defence of Lewis Hamilton at the São Paulo Grand Prix.
Hamilton was making his way around the outside at turn four for the race lead in Brazil when Verstappen broke late to defend, running both drivers wide of the circuit boundary.
The decision not to penalise Verstappen during the race seemed to go against the precedent set for such incidents in Austria, where Sergio Perez and Lando Norris were penalised five seconds for forcing a rival off-track.
Speaking on This Week with Will Buxton, former Williams and McLaren driver Montoya queried the lack of consistency.
“In Austria, when people were going side by side and the guy on the outside wasn't given enough room in the corner, because there was gravel, they were penalised, the guy in the inside and here that guy drove him completely off the race track. How do you justify [it]?” queried Montoya.
“Why is Max getting away with this and some other guys don't? I mean, are they applying the rules the same for everybody?
"Or is Max getting treated differently because he's young or whatever you want to call it? I'm gonna put another name out there. If [Nikita] Mazepin did that would he then been penalised?”
Verstappen had 'no intention' of making corner - Montoya
Verstappen led Hamilton by 21 points after the sprint, with Hamilton knowing a DNF at this stage of the season would be catastrophic in the quest for world title number eight.
Montoya suggested Verstappen knew he would inch closer to the title had the rivals clashed. He added: “My honest opinion, the way I think Max looks at it is: if they crash he gains points.
“As long as Lewis doesn't finish ahead of him, he's in a better situation for the championship.
“Lewis was alongside him and cleared him in the braking zone. There was no way, as late as he braked, he was gonna make the corner. I don't think he had much of an intention of making the corner.
“I don't have anything against Max. I actually really like Max and Red Bull, and they've done an amazing job to bring the fight to Mercedes.
"But I think they're being surprised of how good Mercedes was.”
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Award-winning director reveals STUNNING tribute to F1 legend Senna
- 26 minutes ago
Ferrari fans BEG for Newey after team reveal shock change
- 1 hour ago
Newey manager hints at Red Bull legend's SHOCK next move after exit
- 2 hours ago
Ecclestone ATTACKS Hamilton 'ego' after Ferrari move
- 3 hours ago
Newey and Hamilton could enjoy stunning title REPEAT after F1 guru's Red Bull exit
- Today 18:58
Horner delivers Newey VERDICT as design guru's Red Bull exit is confirmed
- Today 17:57
Related news
Verstappen HUGE way behind Hamilton claims global superstar
Verstappen drops F1 bombshell about Hamilton rivalry
Verstappen sent major Hamilton warning from F1 champion
Hamilton SLUMPS in F1 title favourites as surprise Verstappen challenger emerges
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860