Max Verstappen’s penalty for going off track to overtake Kimi Raikkonen at the end of the United States Grand Prix sparked debate all over the world between Formula 1 fans.
Verstappen and Red Bull were outraged at the decision, along with several ex-F1 drivers, while a lot of fans have argued that the penalty was fair because the Dutchman had all four wheels over the white line on the inside of the track.
The debate has sparked hundreds of posts on the Autosport Forum, and here are some of those comments:
maaaarsh: We spent practice with people moaning that track limits weren’t respected on the outside of a corner – at least that is the long way round. Max literally cut off some of the track’s distance to gain an advantage. This is open & shut.
rockdude101: Correct legal definition? Probably. Correct sporting decision? NO. After spending all that money on fancy entrances and announcers and fluff, all to see it wasted at the end. Shot + Foot + Again = F1
Ivanhoe: My first reaction was against the stewards, because I enjoyed the overtake and thought they killed racing with their decision, but looking at the rules this was clearly a case of a ‘lasting advantage’ while rejoining the track. Pretty clear cut.
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ArrowsLivery: Everybody went significantly wide on Turn 10 and Turn 19 and got away with it. It’s ridiculous that Max gets a penalty for going SLIGHTLY inside the apex, which is not the same as cutting the corner, when everybody else has been getting away with it elsewhere.
Jerem: You can always argue that you’re not gaining an advantage by going slightly off track (I don’t believe drivers would do it if they didn’t gain an advantage from it, but hey, I don’t have access to telemetry).
But you can’t argue that an advantage was gained by going off track if that’s where you go to overtake another car. Clearly illegal. I wish they did the same with cars overtaking and defending by going off track on the outside of corners too.
Laster: Always wonderful to see Max give it everything, but he clearly cut the corner to get on the inside of Raikkonen. It’s not the same as running out wide on a corner lap after lap, this is cutting a corner to pass.
Of course none of this would be a problem if the circuits punished drivers for going off track…
Muppetmad: It was bold stuff and I’m glad Verstappen gave it a go, but I mean, there’s not much to argue here. He was off the circuit. It did no harm in the end; he finished where he would have done if he hadn’t tried the move.
redreni: If you allow the overtaking car to leave the track, you make it impossible to defend and you ruin the racing. It would have been an outrage if that move had been allowed to stand.
The fact that other track limit violations were ignored is beside the point. I would like something done about track limits generally. It is, however, a separate matter when people start going off the track in order to make a pass.
The only people I saw doing that this weekend were Vettel at turn 1 lap 1, and Verstappen on the last lap. Both of those moves were illegal and should have been penalised, though I assume Vettel got away with it because of the extra latitude which everyone gets at the start of the race.
FullOppositeLock: For me the move was illegal in the literal sense, but looking at the entire sequence Kimi practically forced him on the kerb by not giving him space on the entry to the corner until far too late, practically forcing Max off the track.
If that hadn’t happened Max could have easily done a clean overtake. Also looking at the way they’ve treated track limits all weekend this is very hard to explain.
rodnet1: F1 shoots itself in the foot with such a ridiculous decision after a heroic move.
Dratini: I believe from the footage you can see Max begin to veer to the right as a response to Kimi taking the corner, but then he suddenly jerks even further to the right, which is the point at which he cuts the corner. This move at the time I don’t think is necessary because you can visibly see at that point he has enough room to take the corner as per normal.
JonnyJ: Can anyone give me a good reason why we have a full car’s width worth of “run off” on the INSIDE of a corner? What’s the point in that? Cars don’t slide to the inside so why is it not just grass. If the tracks were designed properly this wouldn’t even need to be discussed, because Verstappen would’ve kept it on track. Imagine trying that move going up the inside of T1 at Suzuka, not going to happen.
E1pix: These things wouldn’t happen if all the tracks were bordered by grass as they should be.
DaanF1: So, a penalty of 5 seconds was applied, as happened earlier in the season with similar events. The most recent example I can remember is Palmer against Alonso in Monza. Max finished 4 seconds ahead of Kimi. What would have happened if that gap was more than 5 seconds? Would they apply a 10 second penalty? We will never know, but it bothers me that the decisions in this area are so vague and inconsistently applied.
VolvoT5: I like Max and I do not blame him for that move. Many drivers would try it and the stewards are so darn inconsistent it would be allowed to stand sometimes… well worth the risk. But I am glad to see the rules being applied. Both Red Bull drivers have been allowed to get away with some overly aggressive driving these last 2 years.
Monza78: This sucks bigtime. Legendary drive from an already legendary driver. He fully deserved this podium. This is killing the sport.
pRy: Great move, but illegal. There isn’t a team on the grid that wouldn’t have objected to that move had it been done against them including Red Bull.