Max Verstappen was handed a five-second penalty for colliding with Lewis Hamilton at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Did the stewards make the right decision?
event
The pair collided on lap seven of the race after the restart. Hamilton, running second, moved to the inside to defend his position from Verstappen as they entered the Senna ‘S’. Verstappen sprinted into the corner and passed Hamilton’s car on the outside.
As they turned left, Hamilton moved ahead of Verstappen. The Red Bull driver tried to pass the Mercedes again on the inside of turn two, where they collided.
Hamilton was able to continue but Verstappen suffered front wing damage and had to pit for repairs.
How did it happen?
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What they said
in cars
Following the crash, Verstappen said the race engineer “left me nowhere”. Later, when told he had been penalized for the collision, Verstappen said: “Where did you expect me to go? He just shut the door on me.”
“That wasn’t a competitive incident,” Hamilton said after the crash when he returned to turn one on his lap.
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After the accident
“He really didn’t have much of an opinion,” Hamilton said of the collision.
“He went outside and I felt he wasn’t going to give up right away, so I went there,” Verstappen explained. He didn’t give me a place, so I knew we would meet.”
The event in pictures
The official judgment
The stewards handed Verstappen a five-second penalty and two penalty points for the collision.
“Verstappen braked too late and tried to pass Hamilton,” they decided. He didn’t complete the pass on lap one and his excessive speed ruined his entry into turn two and collided with Hamilton.
Realizing that Hamilton might have given up a little more space on lap 2, the stewards decided Verstappen was mainly to blame.
Updated guidelines were issued to drivers at the start of the 2022 season. Guidelines for exiting corners:
“To force the overtaking car to give enough space to the overtaking car, the overtaking car must have a significant portion of the car next to the overtaking car and the passing must be done in a safe and controlled manner. while allowing the car to remain clearly within the track boundary.
Among the various factors that the stewards consider when using their brains to think about what constitutes a ‘big room’ for overtaking out of a corner, the stewards think that the passing car is in front. Another car from the corner. The oncoming car must be able to corner while staying within the track’s boundaries.
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Guidelines for bypassing the angular internals:
“To force the overtaking car to give enough space to the overtaking car, the overtaking car must have a significant portion of the car next to the overtaking car and the passing must be done in a safe and controlled manner. while allowing the car to remain clearly within the track boundary.
Among the various factors that the stewards consider when using their recommendations, when considering what is a ‘large share’ of overtaking on the inside of a corner, the stewards consider if the front wheel of a passing car is with the other. Not long after, a car rounded the corner.
For chicanes and s-bends, the same guidelines apply to each corner.
Your judgment
Was Verstappen’s penalty justified? Cast your vote below and have your say in the comments.
Was Max Verstappen’s penalty for his collision with Lewis Hamilton justified, cruel or negligent?
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2022 Brazilian Grand Prix
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