Jos Verstappen has expressed surprise at the two ten-second penalties his son Max received during the Mexican Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver had to defend his second place against an aggressive Lando Norris, but the stewards ruled that he had crossed the line. Verstappen senior emphasized afterwards that not all stewards are equally objective towards Max.
After a previous showdown at the Austin Grand Prix, where Lando Norris received a time penalty for overtaking off the track, it was Max Verstappen who was reprimanded in Mexico City. The Dutchman had to spend an extra twenty seconds in the pit lane during his first pit stop. In a conversation with De Telegraaf, Jos Verstappen acknowledged that his son’s maneuvers might have been ‘a bit over the top’, but he also suspects that some stewards simply don’t like Max.
Conflict of Interest
“You can speculate about it for a long time, but in the end it doesn’t make a difference,” Jos Verstappen explained. “Max drives the way he wants to. He has to, because the car is simply not good enough for now. He’s doing everything he can to win the title and he’s not going to change his driving style just because there are a few stewards who don’t like him.” Verstappen senior referred to Brit Johnny Herbert and Tim Mayer, whose father Teddy was involved in McLaren’s Formula 1 debut.
“The FIA should take a good look at the composition of the stewards,” Jos Verstappen continued. “Who is appointed there and whether there is a conflict of interest, for example former drivers who have more sympathy for certain drivers or teams.” Despite this, Verstappen senior sees the lack of performance at Red Bull as a bigger problem. He also lamented the poor performance of the RB20 in Mexico City. “You could see that in the results of his teammate,” the Limburger concluded. “Even Haas was faster.
