Sirotkin: "He had several moments to get out of the way"

"It was ultimately a race situation that went the way it did due to a combination of factors. The sausage kerb causing Verstappen to make the jump, the contact with Hamiltons wheel causing the Red Bull to jump up. I wouldn't call it a mistake by Verstappen but rather an unfortunate combination of circumstances," Sirotkin said in his column for Formule1.nl.

Max the culprit

The former Formula 1 driver believes Verstappen is more to blame than Hamilton for the incident. He therefore understands why the stewards came to the decision to penalise the Dutchman for his part in the crash. "He had several moments to get out of the way, wanted to force space that wasn't there. And if you then point to him as the culprit you have to punish as well."

Many feel that a three-place grid penalty for the Russian Grand Prix is a little disproportionate, as it seemed that Hamilton could have also left more space. "He was already out of the race so then the grid penalty is the only option, I don't think it's a very severe penalty either actually," the Russian driver told us.

Verstappen at the back of the grid in Russia?

Verstappen might start from the back of the grid on the Sochi circuit. The 17-time Grand Prix winner can't make it with the three power units from his pool, so another very heavy grid penalty is on the cards, as Valtteri Bottas had last weekend. Verstappen might combine the three-place penalty with an engine change.