F1 News
Brundle continues to be "saddened" by Verstappen: 'Legacy tainted'
Martin Brundle continues to express his "sadness" about Max Verstappen's driving actions during the battle with Lando Norris at the Mexican Grand Prix. The former F1 driver turned Sky Sports commentator believes Verstappen is 'tainting his legacy' with those moves as he welcomes a new "firmness" from the stewards following discussions about the regulations between the Austin and Mexican races.
The first ten-second penalty for Verstappen was for pushing an opponent [in this case, Lando Norris] off the track. Verstappen's second ten-second penalty was for going off track and taking advantage of it. The Red Bull driver served the penalty during his pitstop in the race. During live commentary, Brundle argued that Verstappen was downright dangerous during the incident with Norris.
In his column on Sky Sports, Brundle has continued to criticise the Dutchman for his driving actions on track. "I know that Max doesn't care what anybody thinks, but it saddens me when he drives like that. He's a multiple champion, has more driving talent in his little finger than most of us ever had, but his legacy will be tainted by this sporting attitude and that's a shame," Brundle said.
Were the stewards harsher on Verstappen?
Verstappen and Norris clashed on track in the United States Grand Prix one week earlier. This time, Norris was hit with a five-second penalty for overtaking off the track. This triggered a week-long debate about the rules within Formula 1, with most drivers across the grid giving their opinions on the matter. GPDA director George Russell suggested 19 out of 20 drivers were open to making the change immediately.
The FIA had claimed no adjustments to the rules had been made. But Brundle seems to think Verstappen's penalty indicated that there was a difference. "Verstappen took two 10-second penalties within four corners, and with decisions that clearly indicated a new firmness from the stewards, which is welcome," Brundle continued.
"The first was in Turn Four against championship rival Lando Norris who was passing around the outside. Norris was deemed to be ahead at the entry, apex and exit and so was entitled to racing room rather than being shoved off. It could have been a five or 10-second penalty, but it was deemed that there were no mitigating circumstances, and so he got the standard 10 seconds," Brundle added before reiterating that he felt the second penalty "could've easily warranted" a drive-through penalty.