Max Verstappen says he “has the wrong passport” for the Formula 1 paddock amid fierce criticism over his driving tactics in last week’s Mexican Grand Prix.
In Mexico City, Verstappen was handed a double 10-second penalty for two incidents in which he forced McLaren title rival Lando Norris off the track, which caused unease from various colleagues over his aggressive driving style in the title run-in.
Verstappen particularly copped heavy criticism from British pundits, with former F1 world champion and Sky analyst Damon Hill wondering if the three-time champion is even capable of racing fairly.
Meanwhile, Johnny Herbert, who was the FIA driver steward in Mexico, suggested Verstappen drove Norris off on purpose in Turn 7 to ensure Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc would make it past, hindering Norris’ title bid by reducing the number of points left on the table for the Briton.
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Verstappen initially shrugged off Hill’s comments in the Brazilian Grand Prix’s FIA press conference, but speaking later on to Dutch-language journalists, he was amused by how he seemed to have the wrong nationality to be treated fairly by the media and the stewards.
“I know what most people are like, it’s nothing new,” he said. “Last year was perfect, so it must have hurt a lot for many people that they couldn’t say anything negative.
“Now they’ve got the chance to say something, so they’re all coming out of the woodwork. At the end of the day, I’ve got the wrong passport for this paddock.”
Verstappen called Herbert’s theory “a pretty extreme accusation” and insisted he didn’t drive Norris off on purpose in Turn 8.
“I didn’t do anything on purpose. They can’t look inside my head,” he said. “It’s a pretty extreme accusation. We just raced hard.”
While questioning the size of the penalty for his Turn 4 incident with Norris, Verstappen did acknowledge the second 10-second penalty for his Turn 8 manoeuvre was fair. But he didn’t feel there was any reason to do things differently from now on.
“You win some, you lose some,” he said about the outcome of his Turn 8 lunge. “It depends. Every situation is different and in hindsight, it’s always easy to have another look at it.
“It happened, we just have to make sure we have a more competitive car so we don’t end up in that situation again, because that’s where it starts.”
What is also behind Verstappen’s suggestion of bias is his community service penalty for swearing in Baku’s press conference, while Leclerc hasn’t been slapped on the wrists yet for a similar offence in Mexico.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
“[Herbert] had big opinions about what I said in the press conference [in Baku], but I didn’t hear him after the press conference in Mexico.
“Actually, what [Leclerc] said is worse than what I said in its context, and it was a much more important press conference with more people watching. But you know, I’m not going to spend time on that. It is what it is.”
Motorsport.com understands the FIA is still considering whether or not Leclerc’s swearing in Mexico’s post-race press conference needs to be investigated further, with a call expected over the Brazilian GP weekend.
