Red Bull’s Helmut Marko has accused the FIA and race stewards of favouring Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes, after Max Verstappen was handed a penalty during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, whilst Hamilton was not – although remains under investigation.
Verstappen was given a five-second time penalty for forcing Hamilton off-track on Lap 27. That came after Verstappen also ran wide during the first restart, which saw him snatch the lead of the race, forcing Hamilton to take avoiding action and dropping him to third behind Esteban Ocon as a result.
Verstappen wasn’t penalised for that first off, but was forced to give the position back at the second restart. Hamilton was later seen forcing Verstappen wide at the same corner and escaped a penalty, albeit it was his first such offence.
The pair later clashed when Hamilton ran into the rear of Verstappen’s RB16B after the Dutchman dramatically slowed on the straight, in an effort to let Hamilton past as instructed by the FIA and his team.
That remains under investigation and Marko insists, despite Hamilton’s claims, that Verstappen didn’t brake test the Briton.
“Our engineers are preparing [the data] that we can prove Max was constant with his braking, he didn’t brake test like Hamilton said,” Marko is quoted as saying by Autosport in Jeddah.
“Then he crashed into our car, he unfortunately put two cuts in the rear tyre. That was so severe that we couldn’t attack anymore. We had to take speed out.
“That was the one thing. The next thing was at the second start, Hamilton was more than 10 car lengths behind [the Safety Car]. Vettel got penalised in Budapest when he did it. But with this manoeuvre he [Hamilton] was preparing his tyre better for the start.
“Then he pushed Max off, no reaction,” added Marko.
The Austrian, who is often outspoken, accused the FIA of bias: “We feel we are not treated the same. It’s a very one-sided decision-making here.”
He also denied that Verstappen needed to “cool down” with his driving, which Hamilton branded “over the limit”.
“I don’t think there is any reason why he should cool down. It’s the match between Mercedes and Red Bull, and the match between Max and [Lewis]. Just remember what happened in Silverstone, what’s happened in Budapest. Don’t forget that.”
FIA {one-sided’ decision making)
I always watch f1 no long going to watch
We’ll miss you, honestly!
Rotten situation in F1 and it has been like this for more than 8 years now.
This Mercedes biased favoritism should stop.
What a complete joke Redbull get away with things even more than Ferrari did. Nearly every other F1 driver as said Max driving style is dangerous. But I guess unless someone is seriously injured or killed the FIA will keep the blinkers on.
Hopefully Marko will be called to the FIA for bring the sport into disrepute and join Horner in his re-education programme with the Stewards in 2022! It’s pretty plain to see why Max is driving the way he is, goaded on by team members who should grow up and shut up,
So rules shouldn’t apply to Max? Gaining advantage by getting off track twice? Unsafe return to the track? Obviously Running into other drivers and pushing them outside…break checking cars? EVERY DRIVER complaining about him cant be wrong.
I have to agree with Marko on the headline. Red Bull do seem to have got off lightly considering their antics
Mr Mateschitz needs to remove both Horner and Marko from their roles and replace them with more positive people. Horner and Marko do nothing but whine and bitch and run the organisation in a very cut-throat manner. Mr Mateschitz should understand that this negative behaviour has a bearing on his image and product. I personally own nothing with a Mercedes brand. I used to buy Red Bulls products, but after so long of Horner and Marko whining and complaining, I stopped buying Red Bull. I simply do not wish to associate myself with them or their management style. I’ve been following F1 for years, since 1968 or so, and rarely have I seen driving as atrocious as Max. Marko and Horner support this style, which is a huge shame for them, the sport and Red Bull in particular.
What a great race weekend we have coming up. I mean, you could not have scripted this any better. With all the controversies going on and to have both drivers tied at the top, I can’t wait!! Going to be very interesting to say the least.
well