Max Verstappen was among the drivers who received an official warning from the FIA after the finish of the race in Baku for overtaking other cars while the virtual safety car was in effect. The reigning world champion said he was surprised by the call to the stewards.
Max Verstappen: “I did everything correctly. I crossed the finish line and saw the chequered flag. There have been many examples in the past where drivers on the way back to the pits, under a virtual or real safety car, slowly passed each other or waved to each other and things like that. That’s exactly what I did, so I’m a bit surprised.
Speaking about the title fight with Lando Norris, Max agreed that the rivalry between the McLaren drivers plays into his hands: “In a way it does, but I don’t always want to finish sixth! We have to perform better ourselves. Sergio was much happier with the car, he had more speed than me, so we have an argument.
Okay, maybe I didn’t have a chance to win, but I could have fought for the same positions as Sergio, but I made a mistake with the settings, changed them before qualifying, and paid the price for that.
The car was very difficult to control – it bounced constantly, the wheels left the ground in slow turns. If you have no contact with the asphalt, it is very difficult to fly. When we changed the settings, we thought it would be a step in the right direction, but it was not.
I think we learned a lot. The car was running much better than before, but then we went in the wrong direction with the settings. Next time we will try to do better.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
