F1 action against Red Bull shows Mercedes “true nature”

Max Verstappen believes that Mercedes’s recent crackdown on Red Bull shows the team’s “true nature” while the Formula 1 stewards consider whether to reopen the case for his move to Brazil.

Red Bull and Mercedes have banned their horns several times this year during their title fight, with the most recent incidents flaring up in Interlagos last weekend.

Lewis Hamilton was kicked out of qualifying due to a technical error in the DRS, but fought his way back to victory on Sunday after a tense battle with Verstappen for the lead.

Verstappen seemed to Hamilton run far at Turn 4 to defend his position, but the commissioners decided not to investigate or impose a penalty – a decision Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff described as “ridiculous”. He later said diplomacy was over.

After footage from the on-board camera of Verstappen’s car surfaced on Tuesday, Mercedes applied for a right to review the incident, with a hearing held on Thursday evening. A decision from the stewards is expected on Friday morning.

In a conversation with the Dutch media ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix this weekend, Verstappen was asked if he thought Mercedes had been aggressive towards Red Bull lately and if the team was going too far.

“Then of course you can see their true nature come out,” said Verstappen.

“This is of course not my team, so I don’t have to deal with it. But then you show your real face and show who you really are.

“I think it’s important that we focus on ourselves and stay focused like we have always done.

“We will do that for the next races as well.”

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing speaks to the media

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Verstappen had said earlier in the day that he was “not surprised” by Mercedes’ decision to take matters further and pursue a scrutiny right as tensions between title rivals continue to mount.

Verstappen leads three remaining races in the drivers ‘championship with 14 points ahead of Hamilton, while Mercedes is 11 points ahead of Red Bull in the constructors’ championship.

Hamilton’s race to catch up in Brazil was aided by a fresh engine that he picked up before the race weekend and received a five-place penalty after starting from 20th to fifth in the sprint race.

That meant that Hamilton started the Grand Prix on Sunday from grid position 10, but he was able to show impressive speed on the straight line throughout the weekend, which sparked Red Bull’s fascination with Mercedes’ rear wing design.

When asked by Motorsport.com for his opinion on the penalties for the engine and that it was only a five-place penalty for additional engine changes after the first, Verstappen thought this was “something that needs to be checked.”

“The first time it’s ten places back and then five, and I find that a bit illogical,” said Verstappen.

“If you keep taking engine penalties, I think it should just stay that way [number of grid places]because you are over the same limit all the time.

“Yes, you can see that, because in Brazil you clearly saw that the other teams had no chance of doing anything against us.” [Red Bull and Mercedes].

“So such a punishment [five places] is not that big of a deal. “

Additional reporting from Ronald Vording

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