Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc feels that any driver in Max Verstappen’s shoes at the Mexican Grand Prix “would have done exactly the same.” The Dutchman received two separate 10-second penalties for aggressive moves on his championship rival, Lando Norris.
As the 2024 Formula 1 season nears its end, Verstappen faces a challenging situation: he leads the World Championship, yet he’s watching Norris close in with a notably quicker McLaren. Since his last win at the Spanish Grand Prix in June, Max Verstappen has struggled to keep up, with McLaren showing a distinct performance edge. In Mexico, the Red Bull man took an unorthodox approach to try to hold off Norris, attempting two bold maneuvers in quick succession to gain an advantage.
The Red Bull driver’s actions have sparked heated debate, with many in the paddock questioning his driving standards. However, Charles Leclerc is not entirely convinced by the criticism, hinting that some of the negative opinions surrounding Max Verstappen’s tactics may not be fully justified.
“The second move on Lando, I think this is over the limit. I also think that whoever [you put] in his position might just do the same, because we are fighting for a world title and I think it would be very false to say that drivers will do something different today. He feels that the car that he has is not as good as the beginning of the season. He feels that McLaren probably [has] really good momentum at the moment and they are all fighting for the drivers’ title. So it’s hard. Sometimes he will go over the limit, like he did in Mexico. But again, they are fighting for a world title. So in my opinion it’s understandable. Then it’s up to the FIA to control that and obviously put limits to what is possible or not. And on that, we are trying to work to make it the best possible.” – the Ferrari driver pointed out.
While Charles Leclerc chose to extend some understanding to Max Verstappen’s driving tactics, not all of his peers were as sympathetic. George Russell, in particular, voiced strong objections to Verstappen’s aggressive maneuvers, making his disapproval clear.
Leading into the Brazilian Grand Prix, George Russell was outspoken about what he viewed as overly bold moves from Max Verstappen. In his view, the Red Bull driver’s approach had crossed the line from competitive to reckless, setting a tone of caution—and some frustration—among the field. George Russell didn’t mince words, highlighting what he saw as the dangers of such tactics and expressing concerns about the precedent it might set for driving standards across the grid.
This brewing tension added an extra layer of anticipation to the Brazilian GP, as drivers awaited both the next showdown on the track and the potential for further rule clarifications from the stewards.
“It’s getting beyond entertaining or beyond sporting, it’s just almost unfair to a point now.” – George Russell explained – “You can argue the first one was maybe 60-40. The last one, I’ve not seen anything like that since probably Brazil [in 2021].” – the Mercedes driver concluded.
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