McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has urged the FIA to take action against Formula One world champion Max Verstappen. McLaren’s Lando Norris was forced to retire from Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix after being hit by Verstappen during a controversial and aggressive battle in the final third of the race.
Norris and Verstappen battled for the lead for 12 laps at the Red Bull Ring, with Norris repeatedly trying to pass the Dutchman until they clashed on lap 64 of 71 and both suffered punctures. Norris’s car was severely damaged and he could no longer run, while Verstappen finished fifth and the stewards deemed him responsible and gave him a 10-second penalty. Mercedes’ George Russell ultimately won.
“The rules were not enforced,” Stella said. “A warning to Max would be enough, like a black and white flag, not to do it again. This incident should be seen as an opportunity to tighten the boundaries and enforce some of the rules that are already in place.
Norris accused Verstappen of reckless and desperate driving, with Stella also referring to the 2021 race between Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen when the two met multiple times in a very tight title battle. , noting that he believes past decisions not to punish Verstappen were a mistake on the part of the FIA.
Hamilton and Verstappen clashed that season at Imola, Silverstone, Monza and Jeddah. At Interlagos in Brazil, Verstappen pushed Hamilton off the track but it was deemed not worthy of a penalty at the time, although Hamilton did win. The decision not to condemn Verstappen’s driving behavior was widely questioned as legitimizing such a move, and Stella believes it may have only emboldened him.
“We don’t want to see 2021 again. It’s not a good point for F1, it could be interesting but there’s no good reason,” he said. “If you don’t solve the problem, once you introduce competition, once you introduce a sense of injustice, these things will escalate.
“There is an incomplete work, from the past, a legacy that, once triggered, immediately becomes an escalated case.”
Verstappen’s penalty in Austria did not affect his finishing position, and he further extended his lead over Norris in the World Championship by 10 points to 81 points with 13 races remaining. He insists his actions were the type of incident that occurs when drivers attempt to brake on the inside or go around the outside at the third corner of the Red Bull Ring.
Verstappen has come under increasing pressure from the Briton since Norris’ win at the Miami Grand Prix, launching a serious challenge to him at the front of the grid and breathing new life into the title race . A fiery finish to a tight race once again raised questions about Verstappen’s uncompromising driving style.
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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said that while stewards found Verstappen at fault, he also believed it was a race incident similar to what would happen when two drivers attack each other in a competitive fight. “It’s inevitable,” he said. “You might be able to see this building in a few games. At some point, there will be some intimacy between the two of them.
He also believes it could be more of the same at this week’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone, noting that he expects it to be “a continuation of the theme we’ve seen over the past few races”.
