Verstappen suspected “sagging” in the Mercedes F1 rear wing incident

The championship leader was fined 50,000 euros for touching Hamilton’s rear wing after finishing second behind his title rivals in Friday’s conventional qualifying at Interlagos, more than the allowable distance.

After an overnight investigation, the Brazilian Grand Prix Stewards decided to disqualify Hamilton from qualifying, while a separate investigation into Verstappen’s actions resulted in his fine.

When asked by Motorsport.com why he had touched Hamilton’s car – and shortly before his own – Verstappen replied, “Well, I was clearly looking at the wing.

“So, yeah, I mean, you can see what exactly I did on the video. I just looked at how much the rear wing flexed at this point. “

During the press conference after the sprint race following Valtteri Bottas’s 24-lap victory, the Dutchman said his actions “had nothing to do with the DRS – which.” she [the FIA] have looked “.

When asked if he had any specific suspicions that he wanted to inspect directly on Friday, Verstappen stated that he did and then stated that this was related to the new load and deflection tests that were being carried out at the French Grand. Prix ​​were introduced after an excitement about the bending of the wings at the two leading teams of F1 in the first laps of the 2021 season.

Mechanic on the grid with the cars of Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B and Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes W12

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Intrigues continued to follow this area, with the different downforce and drag values ​​produced by both the RB16B and W12 often giving either Red Bull or Mercedes an edge on certain routes.

“Yes, of course there were discussions, and of course there are still things to check – because from a certain speed the wing seems to bend,” he said.

“Of course you know that we all had to change the rear wings at the beginning of the season because of the backoff [of the rear wing at high speed].

“But it seems like something is still retreating over there [at Mercedes]. That’s why I looked at it. “

Verstappen also joked that he hoped his sanction – “a pretty heavy fine” – would result in officials having “a nice dinner and lots of wine.”

He added: “I hope for good, expensive wine – that would be nice. You can also invite me to dinner – I’ll pay for the food too.

“I have to pay [the fine, not Red Bull]. So that’s a little less FIFA points for me than on my laptop. “

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