Verstappen delivers defiant message after Mexican hammer blow

Max Verstappen is adamant he will not be dragged down by “a really bad day” in which he was hammered with two penalties and was left at the mercy of a struggling Red Bull.

Verstappen’s on-track feud with Lando Norris scaled new heights in the Mexico City Grand Prix, resulting in the three-time F1 champion being handed two 10-second time penalties.

Both were for incidents within a few seconds of one another as he first forced Norris off track at Turn 4, and then for leaving the track and gaining an advantage after he again forced the Briton wide, claiming a place but not giving up position.

By the chequered flag, Verstappen was a minute behind race winner Carlos Sainz in his Ferrari in sixth position. Even without the penalties, the Red Bull driver would have been 40 seconds adrift, although he would have crossed the line in fourth.

Verstappen was left bemoaning the fact that “20 seconds is a lot”, but he insisted that, “I am not going to cry about it”.

Speaking to media including RacingNews365, Verstappen naturally defended his corner, adding: “I felt that the Turn 4 [incident] was more of a question mark, and Turn 8 is what it is. That is it.

“Honestly, those two things are not my problem. We didn’t touch. We were just racing hard.

“I just drive how I think I have to drive. Last week that was alright, but this week it is a 20-second penalty. Life goes on and I just keep racing.”

The last remark was with reference to the lap 52 incident in the United States Grand Prix in which he forced Norris wide with an aggressive defensive move, leading to the Briton making an off-track overtake that landed a five-second penalty.

Verstappen – No chance to fight up front

Verstappen feels it is his RB20 that is leaving him vulnerable in grands prix. It is a car that has rediscovered its one-lap pace but is clearly lacking in race trim.

“The problem is that when you’re slower, you’re being put in those kind of positions,” remarked Verstappen, whose lead in the drivers’ standings has been cut to 47 points after Norris went on to finish second.

Defiantly he added: “I’m not going to give up easily. At the end of the day, it is not about agreeing or disagreeing about the penalty. The only thing is 20 seconds. It’s quite a lot.

“But the biggest problem, and that is what I worry about, is the race pace, which was really not good. It’s something we need to analyse because even without those penalties, we had no chance at all to fight up front.”

As to whether he was worried about the championship picture, he said: “I’m not worried.

“This was just a really bad day for us, but I also know that we can do much better than this, so we just keep going at it.”