Formula 1 is a very serious sport. I really mean that – it’s a billion dollar, impossible speed competition that actually has a really good title fight this year. But sometimes you could blame her for taking herself a little too seriously.
The Styrian Grand Prix this weekend was a record-breaking edition of things that should definitely not be done, like being too quick at pit stops, something that you thought was kind of part of the sport. Apart from the minimal human reaction times, Max Verstappen caused the anger of the race management to win the Grand Prix of Styria and to celebrate a small celebration with his team at the pit wall.
After the end of the race and before they bring their car to the Parc Fermé for inspection, Grand Prix winners are allowed to celebrate a solemn “act of celebration” on the track. This is usually something like a winning lap or, in really exceptional cases, a few donuts.
You must also ensure that your car has enough fuel for a fuel sample, that it is in a safe condition when it comes to the pits and that you do not endanger other drivers or officials in the process.
Max Verstappen crossed the checkered flag after leading every lap of the Styrian Grand Prix more than 30 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton after the Mercedes pitted for the fastest lap to get fresh tires. That gave him a lot of freedom to slow down, drive to his Red Bull team at the pit wall and do a gentle burnout winder to get away from the ideal line again. It was exactly the way riders put rubber in their boxes on the warm-up lap.
Riders used to do them all the time, including wild weaving on the warm-up lap to build up tire and engine temperatures for takeoff. However, since the advent of high degradation tires and rules that say you can’t change your entire drive unit after every session, like it was in the V12 days, it’s been a lot less popular as an activity on the track.
However, F1 race director Michael Masi didn’t have it. He apparently immediately contacted Red Bull to impose the law and inform the team that while Verstappen got away with it in this race, it shouldn’t be as much fun in the future.
In fairness, there is a legitimate security concern. In 2015, Formula Renault 3.5 winner Roberto Merhi basically did the same thing, braking his car on the track to almost a standstill on his team’s pit wall. Nicholas Latifi behind him hadn’t expected it and the two collided violently, Latifi skidded down the pit straight.
Of course you don’t want to see that at a victory celebration, so Masi Verstappen had to put off with the words: “That wasn’t an ideal situation, so I spoke to the team immediately and informed them accordingly.” something that would not be tolerated in the future. “
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