“It’s really not acceptable,” Jos Verstappen said of Lewis Hamilton’s role in the race’s elimination of the former’s son, Max Verstappen.
On Sunday, Max Verstappen survived a 51G collision with the barriers, and the impact was so severe that the Dutch racer had to be taken to the hospital because he felt dizzy, and a precautionary check was made.
The FIA determined Hamilton to be at fault for the collision and assessed him a 10-second penalty during the race; yet, the Briton went on to win the race.
However, Jos Verstappen, Verstappen’s father, disagreed with the officials’ decision and requested a straight race ban, as did Red Bull.
“It’s really not acceptable what he [Hamilton] did,” he told Dutch publication De Telegraaf. “I think a 10-second penalty is really ridiculous. As far as I am concerned, they should have just disqualified him.
The Verstappens were visibly unhappy with the decision, with Max openly expressing his displeasure with the race results and Hamilton’s celebration.
FIA gives the answer
While Red Bull put a lot of pressure on the FIA to get the most out of the incident, Mercedes’ double podium clearly risked their advantage, and nothing less than a race ban is justified for them.
The FIA race director Michael Masi, on the other hand, has been vocal about the stewards’ decisions and has asked them to maintain their independence in the sport. Furthermore, Masi stated that the incident took priority above the impact in decision-making, and Hamilton looks to receive a reasonable penalty based on that standard.
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