The FIA’s Michael Masi has warned Max Verstappen and Red Bull that he won’t tolerate a repeat of the Dutchman’s victory celebrations at future races.
Verstappen won the Styrian Grand Prix in dominant fashion on Sunday, and celebrated by slowing down on the start/finish straight before doing a burnout as his mechanics waved on.
He left two thick black lines of rubber over the finish line as other cars passed by.
Whilst celebrating in such a fashion isn’t against the rules – drivers often complete doughnuts to celebrate – Masi explained that the location of Verstappen’s celebration was considered dangerous and he warned both parties that it shouldn’t be repeated.
“It was not an ideal situation, which is why I spoke to the team immediately and told them accordingly, that it’s something that would not be tolerated in the future,” Masi said when questioned after the race.
The rules outline what is acceptable when celebrating, with Article 43.3 of the Sporting Regulations explaining that they must be a) performed safely and does not endanger other drivers or any officials; b) does not call into question the legality of his car; and c) does not delay the podium ceremony.
Verstappen took his fourth win of the season to extend his championship lead over main title rival Lewis Hamilton to 18 points.
The FIA need to stop controlling everything don’t do this don’t do that the FIA should paid attention to MotoGP burnouts , wheelie etc and the FIA dosen’ t say anything make you wonder , i think the celebration on moto gp are awesome for the fans, Michael Masi take a hike celebration are part of the sport when you win
Agreed ! Why should anyone be allowed a demonstration of appreciation, in Masi’s era ?
I don’t disagree with all the stewards decisions…Bottas in the pitlane earned sanction, for example.
That this was a caution is…. a bit… of progress…but it’s a line in the sand ill chosen.
There are no races, or even sessions without the stewards policing something….and that’s amiss.
Publicly diminishing the modest victory celebration of a team at their home track…. is just draconian !
F1 would be better off without the FIA. If we’re talking 25-30 years ago under Mosley, that’s a different story. But modern FIA is useless.
After reading this I thought he did a burn out and caused to much smoke no one could see… so causing a safety problem…. after looking at youtube of a replay I saw nothing…. What is the problem what was wrong with it?
This world we live in now are just full of H&S PUSS1ES and political correcness over the top bells
“It like Max wanted to say “I wanted to do this because I felt like it and His behaviour is not worthy of a Formula 1 driver. 770 drivers who started a Grand Prix, there have been 33 F1 World Drivers’ Champions. there have been 110 Formula One Grand Prix winners. None of them celebrated like Arrogant mv. You can’t do that while other drivers are still racing for the line. There is no problem with him doing a burnout, just don’t do it on before the finish line.
Yes I go with your comment
“It like Max wanted to say “I wanted to do this because I felt like it and His behaviour is not worthy of a Formula 1 driver. 770 drivers who started a Grand Prix, there have been 33 F1 World Drivers’ Champions. there have been 110 Formula One Grand Prix winners. None of them celebrated like Arrogant mv. You can’t do that while other drivers are still racing for the line. There is no problem with him doing a burnout, just don’t do it on before the.finish line. This is a possible safety issue, as the Formula Renault 3.5 crash shows how badly things can go wrong.
He was well out of the way and off the racing line