No sign of contrition from the world champion over penalties as he admits to being more concerned about the lack of performance from his car.

Though there is no doubting his talent, ever since he emerged on the F1 stage there has been concern at Max Verstappen's sometime kamikaze tactics.

His early years were punctuated with controversial incidents, but then he appeared to learn from his mistakes and calm down. Then came the controversial 2021 season which saw him involved in numerous clashes with title rival Lewis Hamilton.

With a fourth successive title under threat from Lando Norris, in recent weeks we have seen Verstappen return to over the top aggressive racing, which is not only compromising his hopes of winning the championship but is once again tarnishing his reputation.

However, in the aftermath of a race which saw him hit with two penalties, the Dutchman insists that he has no regrets.

"The biggest problem that I have is that today was a bad day in terms of race pace," he told reporters at race end. "That was quite clear again on the mediums and on the hard tyres.

"Last week that was alright, this week 20 second penalty," was pretty much all he would say about the controversial incidents. "It's what it is... I just keep racing."

Asked, on reflection, if there was anything he might have done differently, considering the penalties meant he finished the race in sixth, thereby conceding 10 points to his rival, the Dutchman joked that next time he is penalised he would probably get himself a drink while he waited.

"I mean, the engine was off for 20 seconds, so I had enough time," he laughed.

Labelling the Turn 4 moment as "more of a question mark" and the second as being "what it is", Verstappen said: "To get back to sixth is alright but then I couldn't even fight the Mercedes cars in front, I had no grip. Just sliding a lot, couldn't brake.

"Honestly, those two things (the penalties) are not my problem. The problem is that we are too slow, and that's why I'm being put in those kind of positions. That is my problem.

"We're trying to improve," he continued, "here again, it was a bit more tough, so it's a bit odd. But a few things to look at, and hopefully, of course, Brazil, we can be more competitive.

Insisting that he and Norris "didn't touch", he added: "Just racing hard. But at the end of the day, everyone speaks for themselves.

"Can the rules be better? Maybe yes, maybe not. It's always the same thing. I mean, I just drive how I think I have to drive. Last week that was all right, this week, 20-second penalty. That's what it is. Life goes on, you know.

"(The lead is) still 47 points. Hopefully we can just be a little bit more competitive."

Insisting that Red Bull will not be seeking a right or review, Christian Horner still felt the penalties were harsh.

"I think we're in danger of flipping the overtaking laws upside down, where drivers will just try to get their nose ahead at the apex and then claim that they have to be given room on the exit to the corner," he said.

"It's something that just needs to be tidied up so that everybody knows what is acceptable between now and the end of the season. Otherwise we're going to end up in a mess at the upcoming races."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Spindoctor, 01/11/2024 8:27

"He may not be "crying" over the penalties, but he's definitely keeping up his whingeing about the British press. I presume that contrasting, the Dutch press is a beacon of rational neutrality.
It ill behoves the man lauded by the "orange army" to object to the inevitable petty nationalism & jingoism of our gutter press."

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2. Posted by Spindoctor, 30/10/2024 8:24

"@Stitch431
It's hard to disagree, though surely you aren't surprised at the way F1 is developing? It's been clear for some time that even Bernie, despite a fondness for accumulating money, was also a fan of Motor Racing.
Max 'n Bernie may have made some poor judgements (radially grooved tyres anyone?), but they were always conscious that the Sport happened on the track, not the virtual cutting room floors of TV studios & social media.

Liberty & it seems FIA appear to see the on-track action as merely a component of the overall "package", or product "Formula One" (tm), (c) etc....

From this viewpoint controversy, anger, double-dealing, evil moustache-twirling "characters "etc etc. become the main show or "Profit centre" as the men in grey suits (but no-longer neck ties) would have it. Verstappen's propensity to drive up to & often beyond the limits of both the track & racing etiquette & safety is box-office gold.
This cannot last & I expect that soon those attracted by DTS etc. will lose interest will find something else to relieve the ennui of 21st century life in the West."

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3. Posted by Stitch431, 29/10/2024 11:33

"I had a bad feeling about the way this has been handled. Why? 1. At least two of the stewards are partial (one even with a past at McLaren, and 1 who said in an interview a couple of weeks ago he would teach Verstappen a lesson). 2. This is not a racing contest anymore. The last couple of years it has been turned into a whining contest; The guy who whines the hardest gets his opponent punished ... Put back in the gravel in the curves, and make sure you have impartial stewards. Then we won't have any discussions about it anymore..."

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4. Posted by Spindoctor, 29/10/2024 11:14

"What else could he say?
He quite spectacularly screwed up. First when he tried to re-use his Austin "trick", but misjudged it, then secondly saw red mist & thought his (ex?) mate Lando was Lewis & ran him off the track."

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5. Posted by Pavlo, 28/10/2024 16:55

"Please don’t be naive. What do you expect? Even if he knows he is wrong, he would never admit it to press… did any champion ever do?
Somewhere here was an article: if you want to be a champion, you are never guilty. It’s the weather, tyres, other driver, stewards, bad luck… anything, but not your mistake, never.
I think he on some that the first one was just unlucky with Sainz, so he lost the apex. And the second was just an emotional try, that he probably regrets.
Still, he clearly didn’t have pace against Norris, and very questionably if he could keep Mercedeses behind. So he didn’t lose much, for him it was still worth a try."

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6. Posted by karel, 28/10/2024 12:05

"To be honest , Verstappen is a racer, like Senna, like Alonso, like Mansell , when I hear people like Norris, Hamilton say: he pushed me, he did this, he did that, that are no racers, over spoiled kids driving around in a F1 toy, scared, weak. no wonder F1 has become a kids garden."

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7. Posted by Wokingchap, 28/10/2024 9:22

"Max just doesn't give a shxt...his astonishing/careless replies are confirmation."

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8. Posted by Spindoctor, 28/10/2024 8:29

"That's big of him...."

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Verstappen won't cry over penalties

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