Max Verstappen was outspoken in his frustration with Liam Lawson after the duo collided in the second Formula 1 practice of the Mexico City Grand Prix.
The duo ran side by side through the track, getting dangerously close in the stadium section where the two ultimately collided. Verstappen was on a fast lap, and Lawson was not, with his engineer telling him the Dutchman was approaching.
However, the two fought for several corners before finally making contact in Turn 14. Both drivers received a one-place grid penalty for the race following the incident.
Verstappen was vocal about his annoyance after the session, calling it ‘not smart behaviour ‘, with Lawson still yet to confirm his 2027 drive.
Juan Pablo Montoya defends Max Verstappen
Ex-F1 driver and seven-time race winner Juan Pablo Montoya defended the Dutchman’s irritation, going so far as to say that if he’d been in Verstappen’s situation, he would’ve ‘put Lawson in the barrier’.
On F1 TV he spoke about how Lawson had the right to stand up for himself and yet had he been in Verstappen’s position there would’ve been a more agressive outcome.
“I look at that and I understand that Liam felt that it was a late lunge, that it was a necessary late lunge, and he still made the corner,” He said.
“And Max stayed there anyway, so he said, ‘You’re going to stay there, then I’m going to drive you off the track’.
“Liam went deep and used the whole track, then Max said, ‘I’m going to cut the track and run over you’.
“You’re not going to back off. If I’m sitting in Liam’s position, I think what Liam did was the right thing.
“If I’m in Max’s position, I would have put him in the tyre [barrier].”
James Hinchliffe, former IndyCar driver, also gave his opinion on the incident, blaming both drivers for the collision and calling Verstappen’s frustration and comments ‘unnecessary’.
“It’s hard to say anything complimentary about either guy in this scenario,” Hinchcliffe said.
“I imagine there’s going to be quite a talking to back at the Red Bull at the end of all this because I think both drivers play a part here.
“Both drivers have some degree of fault, and ultimately you damage two race cars.
“Max had to do the rest of his session with a damaged floor. It’s just sacrificing getting useful data.
“But clearly driving over the curb into what’s essentially a teammate is just so unnecessary. So both guys have to own a little bit of that.”
Both drivers have picked up a penaty point on their Super Licenses, with the related grid penalty to be implemented on Sunday.
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