Was Max Verstappen’s penalty at the 2022 Brazil GP a result of home race bias towards Lewis Hamilton?
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Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton
Wheel-to-wheel racing incidents are a common occurrence in this sport. With Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen starting side by side for the 2022 Brazil GP, fans and critics were sure that the possibility of the pair of multiple world champions colliding together would be certain. And that’s exactly what happened. However, the decision taken by the race stewards seemed somewhat biased and disturbing for the fans to process.
After a tough sprint race, Max Verstappen crossed the line behind Lewis Hamilton in fourth place which became his starting position for the main race on Sunday. After an exciting start, the safety car didn’t take long to make its entrance as the pack slowed down and prepared to pounce on the throttle as soon as the lights went green. Max and Lewis were side by side just waiting to catch the other driver sleeping.
When the Brazil GP actually resumed at the start of the seventh lap, Lewis Hamilton took the inside line as he wanted to defend his track position. Verstappen saw that coming and moved to take the outside line going into the Senna ‘S’ which would then put him alongside Lewis whilst also giving him the inside line advantage going into the next corner.
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton’s collision came as no surprise to the fans
With Verstappen on the inside, he went too deep into the corner and Lewis on the other hand was not willing to give his Dutch rival any space. What followed was Lewis Hamilton turning into the Red Bull driver expecting him to back out of the corner. However, it was a stupid bit of action from him even after knowing very well their battles in the past. What happened was inevitable.
Max did not back out like Lewis was expecting him to and the pair came into contact where the Red Bull driver suffered from wing damage. Lewis Hamilton then cut the track and rejoined whilst being able to continue the race. Meanwhile, Max suffered from front wing damage and was forced to pit which basically ruined his race. This incident was investigated by the stewards and a verdict was announced.
After the collision, here is what Verstappen had to say to his race engineer. “He left me no space.” Lewis Hamilton on the other hand went on to blabber that it was “not a racing incident” as he passed turn 1 after the incident had occurred. For this incident, Max was deemed guilty of causing a collision and handed a 5-second penalty along with 2 penalty points that would be stuck to his super-license.
The FIA explains their reasoning behind Max Verstappen’s penalty in Brazil
The race stewards at the 2022 Brazilian GP went on to rule that “ Verstappen attempted to pass Hamilton on the outside of turn one by braking very late. He did not complete the pass in turn one and his excess speed compromised his entry into turn two, at which point he made contact with Hamilton. While the stewards recognise that Hamilton could possibly have given a little more room at the apex of turn two, the stewards determined that Verstappen was predominantly at fault.”
There were some reversed guidelines regarding incidents issued to drivers during the start of the 2022 Formula 1 season. Here is what the reversed guidelines regarding overtaking on the outside of a corner stated and how these same guidelines were used to hand the penalty to the Red Bull driver.
“In order for a car being overtaken to be required to give sufficient room to an overtaking car, the overtaking car needs to have a significant portion of the car alongside the car being overtaken and the overtaking manoeuvre must be done in a safe and controlled manner, while enabling the car to clearly remain within the limits of the track.
“When considering what is a ‘significant portion’, for an overtaking on the outside of a corner, among the various factors that will be looked at by the stewards when exercising their discretion, the stewards will consider if the overtaking car is ahead of the other car from the apex of the corner. The car being overtaken must be capable of making the corner while remaining within the limits of the track.”
Here is what the guidelines for overtaking on the inside of a corner stated :
“In order for a car being overtaken to be required to give sufficient room to an overtaking car, the overtaking car needs to have a significant portion of the car alongside the car being overtaken and the overtaking manoeuvre must be done in a safe and controlled manner, while enabling the car to clearly remain within the limits of the track.
Was Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton’s collision a racing incident?
After interpreting the rules, it is clear that the layout of the circuit has made the rules a tad bit complicated to apply here. However, two things could have been done. Lewis Hamilton could have given Verstappen the space he needed or else Max Verstappen could have backed off from the corner. With both drivers rejecting the idea of yielding, a collision was imminent.
This hurt both the drivers, but on a larger level, it hurt Lewis Hamilton’s chances to win the race in Brazil. Was the move really worth the risk? Guess we will have to ask Lewis himself. This incident could be avoided and both the drivers are to blame as both of them refused to yield. It should have been deemed as a racing incident which didn’t seem to be the case in the stewards’ room.
Does Brazilian bias have a play in the stewards’ decision regarding Max Verstappen?
It’s no secret that Lewis Hamilton received his honorary Brazilian citizenship prior to the race at Interlagos. The country loves Lewis with the “LH army” having the most passionate fans coming out here to support their driver. The fans were ecstatic when they heard that Lewis will have another home race at Interlagos as the 7-time world champion is now an honorary citizen of Brazil.
lt’s been a while since the country got its own national participating at his ‘home race’. And it would be a bad idea to give your home hero a penalty during his first race as a Brazilian citizen. However, this is just speculation but is a probable cause to portray bias. If that is the case then it will surely be disappointing. Nevertheless, none of the drivers deserved a penalty for this incident.
Whenever Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are racing each other, incidents like these keep happening. With fans going on to blame Max for allegedly causing the incidents, there is also proof of his incredible wheel-to-wheel racing all throughout the season. Especially with title rival Charles Leclerc. It is crazy that some fans people expect people to believe that Lewis Hamilton is a saint when it comes to these situations.
Or maybe it’s just the sheer disgust that both the drivers share for each other which awakens a different mindset in both their minds when they encounter each other on the track. The memories from 2021 still seem to be crystal clear in both of their heads with the incidents possibly bothering Lewis more than Max. However, this is truly a bad image for both drivers.
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Varad Joshi
(940 Articles Published)