Max Verstappen’s penalty following collision with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix puts him at risk of a potential race ban despite apologizing for the incident.
As the season finale unfolded under the Yas Marina floodlights, Verstappen’s aggressive maneuver at the first corner resulted in a 10-second penalty which has now put him at risk of a potential race ban.
The collision that triggered Verstappen’s penalty happened after the Red Bull driver attempted an ambitious overtaking maneuver on Piastri as they approached Turn 1.
Max Verstappen who had already secured his fourth consecutive Drivers’ Championship title earlier in the season at Las Vegas misjudged the gap and collided with Piastri’s McLaren forcing both cars to spin.
The FIA ultimately handed down Verstappen’s penalty after being ruled to be “wholly at fault and caused the collision” and the world champion served it at his sole pit stop on Lap 29. This demoted him to the midfield to ultimately finish the race in sixth.
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While he criticized FIA’s decision to hand him the penalty terming the stewards as “Stupid idiots”, the Dutchman took immediate responsibility for the incident, describing the incident as “unlucky.”
Following the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Verstappen said: “My launch was good and then I tried to grab the inside and I quickly realised, once I committed to it, that the gap was closing and I wanted to try and get out of it, because I didn’t want to naturally, of course, crash with Oscar.
“But unfortunately, we still clipped each other, but I already apologised to Oscar, it is not what you want to happen, and especially not with him. He’s a great guy but it happened, and it is a bit unfortunate.
“The thing was that, when you’re in that position, you’re focusing on the car ahead…you commit. When you start first or second, you never really look behind. So I went for it, and then I realised, ‘shit, he doesn’t see me there’. So I was like trying to get out of it, but then we still clipped.”
Verstappen’s post-race comments also revealed his frustration with what he perceived as an inconsistency in how penalties are applied. He sarcastically remarked that he expected a more severe punishment, suggesting that a longer time penalty or even a stop-and-go penalty would have been more appropriate given the circumstances.
“Of course, that is on me. But I was expecting maybe 20 seconds, 30 seconds, I don’t know, stop and go!,“ he added. “So maybe something to talk about for next time.
“I don’t understand anything anymore, but it’s fine, whatever. I’m not going to get angry about stuff like that. It’s not worth my time and yeah, just have a break. Like I said, the most important thing is that I apologise to Oscar and that’s it.”
Despite the chaos caused by the collision, Oscar Piastri managed to recover from the incident to finish in 10th place. However, his performance was overshadowed by McLaren’s huge achievement of clinching their first Constructors’ Championship since 1998.
Lando Norris who won the race played a crucial role in securing this title for McLaren, further highlighting the contrasting fortunes of both drivers during this pivotal event.
READ ALSO: F1 World Championship Standings after 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
The aftermath of the race saw Verstappen personally apologizing to Piastri, acknowledging his role in the incident. The Australian driver responded graciously, indicating that while he believed the Dutchman’s move was overly ambitious, he appreciated the apology.
“He came and apologised straight away,” Piastri said after the race. “The stewards issued Verstappen’s penalty, so we go again next year, it was a tough race from then on but again, we achieved our main target today and that’s all that matters.
“It was a pretty miserable race for myself but of course, the biggest thing today is we clinched the championship. It’s a massive credit to everyone and McLaren for what they’ve achieved this year and I couldn’t be prouder of them all.”
However, the implications of Verstappen’s penalty extend beyond the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as the stewards also added two points to his superlicence tally, bringing him to eight points within a 12-month period.
F1 drivers accumulate penalties based on infractions, and accumulating twelve points over a 12-month period can result in an automatic race ban.
With this looming threat, Verstappen’s future races will be under scrutiny as he navigates the delicate balance of aggressive racing and avoiding further penalties.
