Austin — Mercedes chairman Niki Lauda has described the decision to punish Max Verstappen at the United States Grand Prix as the worst verdict he has ever seen in Formula One.
Verstappen received a five-second time penalty after passing Kimi Raikkonen for third on the penultimate lap by cutting the inside of Turn 16. The move appeared fantastic as he pushed Raikkonen out of position in Turn 15 and then completed it on the inside at Turn 16, but it was ruled to have violated the regulations under a severe reading.
The stewards’ judgment came just moments after the race, and Verstappen was hauled out of the green room prior of the podium celebrations, to be replaced by Raikkonen. Steward influence has been a contentious issue in Formula One in recent years, and Lauda claimed the judgment in Austin contradicted everything the sport had agreed upon prior to the season.
“We had meetings at the start of the year to see how far stewards should go in decisions during a race because it always says ‘under investigation’,” he told reporters. “So we complained about it, and the stewards were present, as was Charlie [Whiting, F1 race director], and we all agreed that the stewards would not interfere. Very simple.
“If the driver collides with another vehicle and ends up upside down, they will weigh in. That occurred at the beginning of last year. For six months, it was fine, but today’s choice was the worst I’ve ever seen. Verstappen did nothing wrong. These are racing drivers, and we are not on normal roads, so it is ludicrous to kill the sport with these types of decisions.
“We’ll put it back on the agenda for the next strategy meeting and start over because we can’t do that. They go overboard and interfere when there was nothing to interfere with. It was a normal overtake.”
The enormous run off across the bulk of the Circuit of the Americas allows drivers to deviate from the white lines, but rather than blaming circuit design, Lauda believes stewards should use common sense.
“But why can’t you drive over white lines if it is possible? Build a wall if you wish, but as long as there is a standard circuit, you can utilize it. The white line is not a limit; we agreed on this last year. Everything was agreed upon, and now this. I think it’s entirely wrong.
