"Not going to cry over penalties": Verstappen's priority is improving Red Bull's performance

Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool

Verstappen prioritizes Red Bull's pace issues over penalties in Mexico GP

Mexico City – Max Verstappen expressed more concern about Red Bull’s pace rather than the penalties imposed on him during the Mexico City Grand Prix, sanctions which his team principal, Christian Horner, described as "excessive."

The three-time Formula 1 world champion started next to Ferrari's victor, Carlos Sainz, but ultimately finished sixth after incurring two 10-second penalties for forcing rival Lando Norris off the track. This result reduced Verstappen's championship lead over McLaren's Norris to 47 points, with four rounds left in the season.

When queried if he would approach things differently, Verstappen joked about potentially getting a drink during his pit stop wait. "I mean, the engine was off for 20 seconds, so I had enough time," he quipped.

Acknowledging the penalties, Verstappen remarked, "The biggest problem that I have is that today was a bad day in terms of race pace. That was quite clear again on the mediums and on the hard tyres," he told reporters.

Analyzing the incidents further, Verstappen found the penalized clash at turn four to be "more of a question mark," while the penalization at Turn 7 was simply "what it is." Reflecting on his sixth-place finish, the reigning champion said, "To get back to sixth is alright, but then I couldn't even fight the Mercedes cars in front. I just had no grip. Just sliding a lot, couldn't brake."

The Mexico incidents followed last week’s clash in Austin, where it was Norris who received a penalty after being pushed wide but ultimately gaining the position without relinquishing it. "Last week that was alright; this week 20-second penalty. It's what it is," Verstappen commented. "I just keep racing."

In a separate statement, Horner criticized the penalties as "very harsh," attributing them to the fallout from the Austin incident. He warned of potential overhauls in overtaking regulations, saying, "I think we're in danger of flipping the overtaking laws upside down, where drivers will just try to get their nose ahead at the apex and then claim that they have to be given room on the exit to the corner."

"It's something that just needs to be tidied up so that everybody knows what is acceptable between now and the end of the season. Otherwise we're going to end up in a mess at the upcoming races," Horner stated.

Despite the controversy, Red Bull has decided not to pursue a review of the stewards' decision, a contrast to McLaren's actions following the U.S. Grand Prix.

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