Max Verstappen has been given a three-place penalty for the next race after his collision with Lewis Hamilton at the Italian Grand Prix.
Championship rivals Verstappen and Hamilton collided while fighting for position at Turn 1 midway through the race. Hamilton held the inside line to Turn 1 and appeared to be ahead, although Verstappen had forced his car into the inside line for the left-hander which followed.
The pair banged wheels and Verstappen’s ended up on top of Hamilton’s in the gravel trap.
The stewards reviewed the incident after the race and declared Verstappen « predominantly to blame » for the incident. He will serve the penalty at the Russian Grand Prix. He has also been given two penalty points on his superlicence.
The verdict explained: « The Stewards observed on CCTV footage that the driver of Car 44 [Hamilton] was driving an avoiding line, although his position caused Car 33 [Verstappen] to go onto the kerb. But further, the Stewards observed that Car 33 was not at all alongside Car 44 until significantly into the entry into Turn 1.
« In the opinion of the Stewards, this manoeuvre was attempted too late for the driver of Car 33 to have « the right to racing room ». While Car 44 could have steered further from the kerb to avoid the incident, the Stewards determined that his position was reasonable. »
Both drivers blamed the other for the incident.
Hamilton said Verstappen should have taken evasive action across the kerbs to avoid a collision, while Verstappen said Hamilton kept squeezing him until he had nowhere else to go.
Verstappen’s penalty is a reverse of the outcome of their collision at the British Grand Prix, where Hamilton was found « predominantly to blame ». As that verdict was given during the race, Hamilton served a time penalty at a pit stop, an option not available to the stewards on this occasion.
https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/32196277/max-verstappen-given-three-place-grid-penalty-lewis-hamilton-collision
