Both Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson have been given a one-place grid drop for Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix following their incident in FP2 on Friday. The stewards noted that both drivers acted in a manner that was ‘considered unacceptable,’ as the drivers also admitted that the moment was ‘clumsy’ and could have been avoided.
“The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 3 (Max Verstappen), the driver of Car 30 (Liam Lawson), team representatives and reviewed video evidence. On the approach to turn 12, car 3 was on a preparation lap and car 30 was on a cool down lap preparing for another push lap.
“The drivers of both cars behaved in a manner that was considered unacceptable by the Stewards particularly in view of the warning that had been given at the Team Managers meeting earlier this day. Both drivers admitted the moves were unnecessary and ‘clumsy,'” read the report.
In their report, the stewards also noted that while similar incidents had been dealt with differently during practice sessions earlier in the season, they have decided to escalate the consequences beginning with this verdict. Any such moments between drivers will now be met with grid drops rather than a warning, which was previously the precedent.
The moment occurred as Verstappen, who was on a preparation lap, reached Lawson, who was on a cooldown lap, as they both approached Turn 14 in the stadium section of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Verstappen then tried to overtake, only to be blocked by Lawson, as the Dutchman drove off the track. The four-time world champion then re-entered the track in a manner where both collided, causing debris to fall all over the track, leading to a red flag.
Max Verstappen Warns Liam Lawson Following FP2 Crash Amid Racing Bulls Future Uncertainty
Red Bull’s Verstappen has urged Racing Bulls driver Lawson to act ‘smarter’ following the pair’s incident during the Mexican GP FP2 on Friday. Verstappen told his colleague that his move during the pair’s incident was not a great thing to try when he is fighting for a race seat at his team.
“Maybe not very smart behavior, what he was trying to do there. But at the end of the day, it’s not going to change my weekend,” said Verstappen.
“But if I was him, I’d act a little bit smarter, also when you’re fighting for your seat, it’s not very smart behavior,” he added.
Lawson is now in his second full season in F1, with his contract at Racing Bulls ending at the end of 2026. The Kiwi driver’s future is not yet certain, as the Red Bull stable is also reportedly looking at F2 driver Nikola Tsolov, who is part of the Red Bull junior academy, for a race seat at the junior team. Lawson’s teammate Arvid Lindblad’s contract for next year has also not been announced yet.
So, a kerfuffle with the undisputed lead driver within the Red Bull group, Verstappen, is actually less than ideal for the 24-year-old at the moment, who will want to simply continue his streak of three points-scoring finishes coming into Mexico.
Ex-F1 Driver Defends Both Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson Following Mexican GP FP2 Crash
Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has defended both Verstappen and Lawson following their crash during the Mexican GP FP2 on Friday. Montoya explained that while he felt Lawson did the right thing in the moment, he would have reacted worse than how Verstappen did if he was in the Dutchman’s shoes.
“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 [Verstappen] still made the corner. And Max stayed there anyway, so he said, ‘You’re going to stay there, then I’m going to drive you off the track,'” explained Montoya.
“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 tire [barrier],” he concluded.
After the crash, Lawson said that Verstappen drove into him over the team radio. The Kiwi driver did not speak to the media afterwards.
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