Max Verstappen Not Penalized for Hungarian Grand Prix Crash
With seven laps remaining in the Hungarian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen had finally passed Charles Leclerc after being marooned back in fifth position. Verstappen was battling for the final podium spot for most of the race but never had the speed to battle with the McLaren duo up front.
Frustrated, as told by numerous exasperated radio calls, Verstappen attempted to pass Lewis Hamiton in turn one for the final podium position. Passing on the inside with DRS on, Verstappen locked up his front wheels, hitting the Mercedes and briefly becoming airborne; Verstappen ran himself off the track and rejoined in sixth.
In the FIA document released, it's said that Verstappen argued that Hamilton was at fault for changing direction under braking. The stewards, after reviewing the video, disagreed, saying that Hamilton was following his normal racing line.
This is the second time in four weeks that Verstappen has been criticized for a crash; in Austria, his block of Lando Norris resulted in Norris' first DNF of the year.
Hamilton said that it was a racing incident, and at the end of the day, the stewards agreed. Verstappen maintains his fifth-place finish, losing eight points of his championship buffer to Lando Norris, and Hamilton holds on to his 200th career podium.
With Sergio Perez' seventh-place finish, Red Bull lost 27 points in the championship battle to McLaren's 1-2 finish.
Victoria Beaver is a nomadic sports writer who spends her time hopping between race tracks and hippie farms. She’s covered every corner of motorsports that will let her in from 410 Sprints to NASCAR to Supercross. Her daily driver is a 2010 Subaru that she refused to do the smallest amount of preventative maintenance on. Instead, she spends her free time and money building a 42-foot Skoolie to one day travel the country full time.
Motorsport
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