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Who said dead rubbers are boring? With around two-thirds of the Brazilian Grand Prix done, Max Verstappen had driven superbly and his Red Bull team had nailed their strategy. Despite starting in fifth, the Dutchman’s race pace in an excellent first stint put him in contention for victory.
On lap 40 he pbaded pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton for the lead. Before that he had overtaken Kimi Raikkonen’s and Sebastian Vettel’s Ferraris and Valtteri Bottas’s Mercedes. It was an overtaking masterclbad in a car that qualified nearly half a second off pole.
It soon looked like the Dutchman would follow up his Mexican triumph with another in Brazil, taking his tally to three for the season. But that all ended with his collision with Esteban Ocon on lap 44.
The pair came together when the Force India driver attempted to unlap himself in turns one and two. Both cars spun, Verstappen lost the lead to Hamilton and sustained significant damage to his car’s floor.
Verstappen was, understandably, furious. He labelled Ocon an “idiot” on the team radio and later confronted and shoved him in the cool down room. Both drivers were summoned to the stewards for the altercation. For the on-track incident, Ocon, who finished 15th, was handed a substantial 10 second stop/go penalty. Verstappen, for the altercation after the race, was given two days public service at the direction of the FIA.
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