FIA race director Charlie Whiting says he expects Max Verstappen to take a more cautious approach to overtaking in future races, although the Dutchman himself said he wouldn't change his approach when interviewed immediately after the Chinese Grand Prix.
Verstappen has been involved in two incidents in the opening three races, both of which have impacted his and others races. In Bahrain he collided with Lewis Hamilton when trying to overtake at Turn 1, ultimately damaging his car which forced him to retire from the race. The stewards pinned the blame on the Red Bull driver.
At the weekend during the Chinese GP, Verstappen collided with Sebastian Vettel whilst trying to pass for second. Although the 20-year-old admitted it was his mistake and that he should have been more patient, he said it wouldn't force him to "calm down".
However Whiting expects the penalty points handed down by the stewards – along with a ten-second penalty which dropped him from fourth to fifth – which brings his current total to five – seven shy of a race ban – to force him to think twice when overtaking.
"There probably is a little bit of criticism [against Verstappen] but that's what the penalty points are for," he is quoted as saying by Autosport. "They are there to make an habitual offender take notice.
"He's got five points now, so he's going to be more careful I would say."
When asked if he would have a private word with Verstappen, Whiting replied: "The stewards have done their bit I don't think there's any necessity for that. He made a mistake, which he got penalised for."
Discussion about this post