Verstappen unhappy with 'irresponsible' Leclerc after Suzuka crash
- Published on 13 Oct 2019 11:29
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- By: Dieter Rencken & Fergal Walsh
Max Verstappen has expressed frustration over his lap one crash with Charles Leclerc, which ultimately put an end to his Japanese Grand Prix.
The two came together at Turn 2 as Verstappen held the outside line through the corner before being hit by the Ferrari driver, sending him into a half spin through the grass.
Verstappen retired a number of laps later due to the damage he sustained, while Leclerc went on to finish the race in sixth position, making three pit stops along the way.
The Red Bull driver labelled Leclerc as "irresponsible" after he suffered his second DNF of the season.
“Suddenly into Turn 2, Charles just drove into the side of my car,” Verstappen said. “From my side I don’t think I could have done anything different there.
“The weird thing is that initially they don’t even investigate it. My whole car is destroyed. The whole side. There were just holes in the side of the car. And then they start to investigate it but now it’s after the race.
“I mean, what more should he do to get a penalty? I like hard racing, but I don’t think this was hard racing. This was just irresponsible driving into Turn 2.”
Verstappen believes that without the Leclerc contact, he would have been in a position to fight for a podium finish after his strong launch off the line.
"I had to start again from the back, but my car was so damaged, it made no sense," he said". "So we decided to retire the car.
"It's very frustrating, because I think that we could have had a good chance to be on the podium again after that. I just don't get it.
"There was no need to risk so much at Turn 2. At the end f the day, both of us had to pit, of course I got more damage than what he had because he could continue with a new nose. So it's not good."
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Replies (6)
Login to replyf1ski
Posts: 726
Stop your f###ing whining. If Everyone knows this why would you put yourself in harms may on the out side? tuck in behind and pass with better drive out of the corner. Pulling up along side I am sure exacerbates the dirty air more ensuring the car washes wide.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Hm, you shouldn't really talk, Max. Remember Spa? I do, and it's painful everytime.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
Gotta say that I cringed when I heard Max whining on the radio and afterwards. While I found what Charles did clumsy and worthy of a penalty, I did get some satisfaction out Max being on the receiving end for once. That being said, I hope the pendulum didn't get pushed so far in the opposite direction that we allow for recklessness to go unpunished. I am still of the opinion that both Charles and Albon deserved a penalty. At least warning or something during the race, not after.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Yes, the least we need is for berserks to go unpunished, but I don't think they will, looking at the season as a whole. What complicated the Albon situation was that Norris steered into Albon as the Thai shot forward. I feel Albon didn't deserve a penalty, but he should be warned, and since the incident was "noted", I feel that was probably what he got postrace. As for Lerclerc: another Ferrari driver doing a reckless move that costed the team. Max' postrace interview didn't impress me in the slightest, because a lot of the stuff he complained about apply wholly to himself too. I cheer for RBH, so I didn't gain pleasure from him being out of the race, but I see where you're coming from.
abhidbgt
Posts: 283
He has lesser ground than most to say of such incidents as he has been on the inside and clipped the outside driver many a times. Remember China last year?
Ram Samartha
Posts: 1,172
What goes around comes around. In my estimation he's got a bit more coming back to him for ruining people's races the past few years. And yeah, quityerbitchin.