F1 News: Nico Rosberg Expected Penalty For Max Verstappen After Lewis Hamilton Crash

Alex Harrington | Jul 22, 2024

May 4, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen (1) after qualifying P1 for the Miami Grand Prix at Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

During the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix at Hungaroring, spectators witnessed a clash between Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton. taking place just eight laps before the race end on Sunday, the incident at Turn 1 has sparked a flurry of analyses, including a pointed critique from former F1 World Champion Nico Rosberg.

The collision unfolded as Verstappen attempted an ambitious overtake on Hamilton, battling for third position on the podium. In the heat of the moment, Verstappen locked up his brakes, leading to an unintended deep run into the corner where his left rear tyre clashed with Hamilton’s front right. The impact was severe enough to send the Dutchman airborne momentarily, subsequently relegating him to fifth place as the race progressed.

While Verstappen suggested Hamilton was at fault, no penalties were given by the race stewards, deeming it a racing incident. However, Nico Rosberg, serving as an analyst for Sky Sports, voiced a different opinion.

“I am assuming Max hasn’t seen it yet on TV,” adding, “Otherwise, someone needs to tell him there is a corner, which is why Lewis was turning in! Lewis was taking the corner. I am pretty sure he’ll get a penalty of 5 or 10 seconds and drop behind Sainz.”

Echoing a technical viewpoint, fellow ex-F1 driver Anthony Davidson provided an in-depth breakdown of the drivers' movements leading up to the crash.

"I think, Lewis takes a slightly shallow approach to the corner. I do think there is a slightly early turn in, which catches Max out slightly.

"[Max] is going for the gap thinking ‘it will be straight’. Lewis goes in. At some point, you have to turn into the corner. That’s this grey area that all these drivers play around with. Max did it in Austria. Lewis was doing it here. You are making it uncomfortable for the driver trying to overtake you. They go onto the marbles, it’s very hard to slow down at this point. There is plenty of room, way more than a car’s width to the right-hand side. So, you can still go down the inside. But you’re carrying such speed now that you’ll probably lock up. That’s what happened.

"Not just one lock up. Both front wheels locked up. That makes the car go straight. Because the car goes straight, that’s the cause of collision. Lewis goes to turn in. But when it locks up for Max, it’s as if the car goes left. It doesn’t - it’s an optical illusion. When you get a double-front lock up, you have no steering. That’s what ultimately caught Lewis out.

"That’s why he didn’t turn out of the corner. Because you’re not expecting the car on the inside to suddenly go absolutely dead straight, as it did. When you see the amount of lock up and how far the car was about to go wide? It was a racing incident, I think. The main cause of collision was because of Max. But he was a little bit compromised going into the corner.

"It’s a grey area. Whether it’s a jink to your opponent to move out to overtake you, then you counteract. That’s quite different to a subtle turn in. But it is in the braking zone, but so is the entry to the corner.”