Max Verstappen believes that Red Bull's current lack of race pace has been a key factor behind his successive clashes with Lando Norris, with the pair's latest brawl in the Mexico City Grand Prix earning the Dutchman a total of 20 seconds of penalties.
Verstappen, who finished Sunday's race in sixth position after serving his time penalties during his pit stop, suggested that his car's lack of performance is forcing him into situations that make him vulnerable to the stewards' ire.
Sunday's sanctions at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez stemmed from two separate incidents on Lap 10. In both cases, Verstappen ran Norris off the track—first at Turn 4 and then again at Turn 7—while trying to defend and regain his position.
The stewards handed Verstappen a 10-second penalty for each incident, citing violations of racing guidelines.
However, Verstappen pointed out to Red Bull's struggles with race pace as the root cause of his infractions.
"You know, honestly, 20 seconds is a lot, but I'm not going to cry about it and I'm also not going to share my opinion," Verstappen told the media after the race.
"The biggest problem that I have is that today was a bad day in terms of race pace. That was quite clear again on the mediums and on the hard tires.
"I just felt that the Turn 4 [penalty] was a bit more of, like, a question mark. Turn 7 is what it is.
"Honestly, those two things are also 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."
After his setback, Verstappen could only partially recover his lost ground as he struggled with a lack of grip on the hard compound tire but also with brake issues that left him unable to mount to bridge the gap with Mercedes' drivers just ahead.
"I mean, to get back to sixth was alright, but then I couldn't even fight the Mercedes cars in front,” he said. “I just had no grip, I was just sliding a lot, I couldn't brake. So yeah, it was a very tough one.
"We're trying [to improve], but I mean, also it was more promising. 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.”
Regarding the penalties and the ongoing debate around racing guidelines, Verstappen didn't dwell on the specifics. He described his battle with Norris as hard racing and seemed unfazed by the differing interpretations of the rules.
©RedBull
"[Lando and I] didn't touch. So, just racing hard,” I observed. “But at the end of the day, everyone speaks for themselves [in the drivers' briefing].
"Of course, 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."
Despite the setbacks in Mexico, Verstappen's lead in the championship remains at 47 points and the Dutchman remains focused on improving Red Bull's performance for the upcoming races.
"[The lead is] still 47 points. Hopefully we can just be a little bit more competitive,” I concluded.
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