Dutch F1 commentator Olav Mol
Formula 1 Hot News

F1 News: Dutch Commentator urges Red Bull to appeal penalties

Andrew Maitland

(GMM) Dutch F1 commentator Olav Mol (pictured) wonders if Red Bull has “the balls” to challenge Max Verstappen’s multiple Mexican GP penalties.

A week ago in Austin, Lando Norris’ 5-second penalty for overtaking title rival Verstappen off the track caused uproar and even a pledge from the FIA to update the driving guidelines from 2025.

But on Sunday in Mexico, the pair’s latest wheel-to-wheel clashes earned the triple world champion not one but two 10-second penalties – and two penalty points on his super license.

Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko thinks it was an “overreaction” by the stewards following the US GP controversy. Team boss Christian Horner even brought a telemetry print-out to his sit-down with the written media after the race.

“Lando was 15kph faster and braked later during his attack than he did on his fastest lap,” Horner insisted.

“You can also see from the onboard that he would never have made the corner.”

After the Austin incident, McLaren waited until Mexico before asking for its ‘right of review’ hearing to challenge Norris’ 5-second penalty. Mol, working for Ziggo Sport, now urges Red Bull to challenge the latest FIA verdict.

“For the same kind of incident, George Russell (in Austin) got a five-second penalty, but in Mexico, Verstappen gets ten seconds. The Verstappen verdict says that ten seconds is the standard penalty.

“Red Bull has a claim to have the entire race declared null and void,” said a fired-up Mol, “because this is clearly not the standard penalty. Then Norris gets five seconds in the United States, Verstappen gets ten seconds in Mexico.

“To the FIA, I say – ‘f*ck you!” the Dutchman slammed.

He admits he suspects that the stewards in Mexico, including former F1 driver Johnny Herbert, “have been influenced by all that bullsh*t and nonsense in England about that overtaking maneuver in Austin”.

“I’m not saying the penalties were unjustified, but that the amount of the penalty is twice as much. I think Red Bull has a case here, if they have the balls.”

Horner Shows Why Verstappen Double Penalty Wrong

Christian Horner brought data to argue against Max Verstappen’s penalties at the F1 Mexico City Grand Prix, but confirmed Red Bull will not appeal the decisions.

Verstappen was handed two 10-second penalties for forcing F1 title rival Lando Norris off track on two occasions on the same lap during Sunday’s race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Red Bull team principal Horner presented to media a data print out claiming to reveal that Norris had carried more speed into Turn 4 when battling Verstappen than at any other point in the race.

“First of all, yes, I think it was very harsh to give two ten-second penalties,” Horner said. “I think there’s something more fundamental. I mean obviously there’s been a reaction to last weekend, and I think it’s very important for the drivers’ steward and the drivers to sit down.

“If I show you here on the GPS – this is on the run down to Turn 4 – this is actually Lando versus Lando, and what you can see is that the orange line is Lando’s fastest lap of the grand prix, so the point he is braking for Turn 4 and then obviously executing the corner.

“What you can see, is that on lap whatever it was [10] that’s been the incident with Max, he is 15 kilometers an hour faster, and later on the brakes than his fastest lap of the grand prix. He wouldn’t have made the corner. He would have run off track. You can see from his onboard steering.

“Of course at this point of the race, he’s got probably 80 kilos more fuel than at the point that he’s done his fastest lap. It used to be a reward of the bravest to go around the outside, I think we’re in danger of flipping the overtaking laws upside down, where drivers will just try to get their nose ahead at the apex and then claim that they have to be given room on the exit.

“And you can see quite clearly he’s effectively come off the brakes, gone in super, super late to try and win that argument as far as the way these regulations are written, and then at that point you’re penalized.

“Now every karting circuit, every indoor karting circuit around the world, if you’ve got the inside line you control the corner. It’s one of the principles and the physics of racing. So they just need to get back to basics that if you’re on the outside you don’t have priority.

“Otherwise we will end up with a mess over these last five races. So I think it’s really important that the drivers’ steward, together with the drivers, agree something that is sensible rather than what we’re getting.”

Horner added: “It just changes the principle, the advantage used to be, the advantage was to have the inside line. The advantage will be to have the outside line and just brake later and claim foul. So I think we just have to be very careful.”