Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Red Bull Racing, McLaren, Formula 1
Marcus Chan
Topics: Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Red Bull Racing, McLaren, Formula 1
Four-time Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen was once handed a huge penalty at the Mexican Grand Prix.
Towards the back end of the 2024 F1 campaign, Verstappen was in a battle with Lando Norris for the world championship.
During the Mexican Grand Prix at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, the Red Bull star and the McLaren driver were involved in two dramatic moments on the track.
On Lap 10, Norris challenged Verstappen for second place after the Dutchman was overtaken by Ferrari star and eventual race winner Carlos Sainz on the previous lap.
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The incident began when Norris tried to overtake on the outside at Turn 4, despite earning the right to racing room, Verstappen forced the Brit onto the grass.
Moments later at Turn 8, Verstappen dive-bombed Norris and both cars were forced off track, with the Dutchman staying ahead.
At the time, Norris slammed Verstappen on his team radio, saying: "This guy is dangerous. I just had to avoid a crash, the same as last time. I'll be in the wall in a minute."
After being investigated by the stewards, Verstappen was handed two 10-second penalties, the biggest penalty he has had in his career so far.
The two slam-dunk penalties came after Verstappen was adjudged to have forced another driver wide and then gained a lasting advantage by passing off track.
In the end, Verstappen finished in sixth place after a brilliant recovery drive, with Norris coming home second.
Reacting at the time, Verstappen said: "At the end of the day, if you agree with it or not, it doesn’t matter because the penalties are given.
"That was also honestly not my biggest problem of the race, my biggest problem was that we just had no pace. Just struggling a lot on the tyres, couldn’t really attack, and I couldn’t follow Ferrari and McLaren."
This weekend, Verstappen will be looking for a much cleaner race as he looks to chase down Oscar Piastri to win his fifth consecutive world title.
After winning three out of the last four Grands Prix, Verstappen is firmly back in the hunt for the championship, having cut the gap to Piastri to just 40 points with five races to go.