Verstappen handed 10-second penalty for collision with Hamilton

Max Verstappen has been handed a 10-second penalty and 2 penalty points for his run-in with Lewis Hamilton in Sunday's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The sanction is related to the lap 36 collision on the back straight between the two drivers that occurred when Verstappen slowed to give back the lead to his rival.

Hamilton was surprised by the move and collected the back of the Red Bull.

Although there was minor damage to their cars, both drivers were able to continue their race, with Hamilton taking the chequered flag and Verstappen finishing second.

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The result that means that the two drivers are now tied for points in the Drivers' championship ahead of next weekend's finale in Abu Dhabi.

As far as the stewards were concerned, they ruled that Verstappen was predominantly to blame for the contact.

The stewards said Verstappen “slowed significantly at Turn 26” but that it was “obvious that neither driver wanted to take the lead prior to DRS detection line 3”.

As they sifted through the data, the stewards noted a "key point": that Verstappen had braked “suddenly and significantly” with 69 bar of pressure, “resulting in 2.4G deceleration”.

The stewards considered that “the sudden braking was determined to be erratic and hence the predominant cause of the collision”.

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