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Max Verstappen explained his eventful Turn 1 incident with Lewis Hamilton at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, where the the former went wide and then rejoined the track. Speaking at the FIA press conference, the young title contender felt the incident was similar to the one in Brazil.
Explaining what transpired during Lap 37 from his point of view, he said:
“Yeah, so of course he had the run, a bit like Brazil, and of course I braked late and I think I got a little bit off line at one point I guess and I had a moment, so I went wide, but he also didn’t make the corner so we both basically missed the corner and I don’t think it’s fair to then just say that I get a penalty but, yeah, it is what it is.”
According to the stewards, doing so allowed the Dutchman to gain an unfair advantage over Hamilton. And he was thus asked to give the place back to the Briton. Max Verstappen obliged and slowed down to let Lewis pass; however, the two ended up colliding instead.
The Dutchman explained he was slowing his car down and had moved over to the right side of the track, when the Mercedes driver hit him.
Max Verstappen penalized for the Turn 27 incident after the race
Explaining what followed on the next lap, Max Verstappen said:
“Yeah, so then at one point they told me I had to give the position back. That was I think just before 22. So after 22-23, I went to drive to the right side and I slowed down and I was braking and downshifting and he just stayed super close behind me and I don’t really understand why. I was just trying to let him by. I’m just going slower and slower, pulling the downshift. .he ran into the back of me and that was it.”
Although Max Verstappen slowed down, he was awarded a 10-second penalty for braking and causing a collision. While the penalty didn't have an effect on the race result, where he retains second place, it will have further ramifications in terms of debate and discussions ahead of the final race weekend of the season.
