Verstappen admits F1 ‘over-regulated’ in terms of racing rules

Max Verstappen admits that F1 has become “too over regulated” in terms of its racing rules and insists that further complicating the guidelines would only stifle on-track action.

The three-time world champion’s driving was put under the spotlight last weekend in Austin by several of his colleagues but particularly by his championship rival Lando Norris.

The McLaren driver was hit with a five-second penalty by the US Grand Prix stewards for overtaking Verstappen beyond the boundaries of the track, a sanction that dropped Norris from third to fourth in the race’s final classification.

However, Norris argued that the only reason he had ventured beyond the circuit’s limits at COTA’s Turn 12 was because Verstappen had put him there by running deep into the corner and then running the Briton wide on the exit.

Several drivers wondered why Verstappen himself had escaped punishment for his defensive move, a tactic sanctioned on countless occasions by the stewards in the past and as recently as last Saturday in Austin when Oscar Piastri, Norris’ teammate, was punished for running Alpine’s Pierre Gasly wide at Turn 12 during F1’s Sprint event.

• Read also: McLaren initiates ‘right of review’ over Norris US GP penalty!

Responding to the criticism regarding his defensive driving, Verstappen struck a sarcastic tone.

“Yeah, it’s quite impressive that people can read my mind,” he said. “It’s crazy. I mean, I always tried to make the corner. I didn’t want to look for a shortcut. I don’t even know what to answer to this bit.”

The Red Bull driver also downplayed the need for any further discussions with Norris, explaining that their shared approach to racing is inherently tough.

“We always said that we wanted to race each other hard,” he emphasized. “That’s what we like to do.”

Norris and other drivers have called for changes to the racing regulations to prevent such incidents from happening in the future. They argue that the current rules are too vague and allow for inconsistent interpretations.

However, Verstappen cautioned against making drastic changes, warning that overcomplicating the rules could stifle on-track action.

“Yeah, I mean, I think we are getting to a stage where I almost need the book in the car,” he remarked. “That’s how it is.

“I mean, I think if you look, of course, over the years, the book has grown quite a lot.”

When asked if he is conscious of the regulations while racing wheel-to-wheel, Verstappen acknowledged their impact.

“Yeah, of course. When you have the situation like we have with the racing guidelines now, they try and specify so many things,” he said.

The Dutchman believes there is no perfect solution to the balance between regulation and freedom in racing, recognizing the cycle of adding and removing rules based on incidents.

“It is definitely over-regulated,” he conceded. “But then I also, I can see the other point of if we take rules away, and then there is again an incident like, no, we need more rules, we need to be stronger on this.

“It’s always the same thing, because in the past we had maybe some lesser rules, and then you have the same argument.

“No, we need to be stronger on this or that. It’s always the same story.”

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