Are Red Bull and Verstappen not reading the rules? "There's a disconnect"

F1 News

5 May 2021 at 09:28
Last update 5 May 2021 at 10:21
  • GPblog.com

Max Verstappen says he lost a win, a pole and a fastest lap because of track limits. Will Buxton however doesn't agree with the Dutchman's explanation, and wonders what goes wrong when he is reading the rules.

Track limits have haunted Verstappen this season. In Bahrain he had to give away his lead because he had overtaken Lewis Hamilton outside the track, in Portugal he lost the fastest time on Saturday by exceeding the track limits and on Sunday he didn't get a point for the fastest lap because of the same rule.

Is Red Bull not paying attention?

It also became clear that Verstappen didn't know which corner was being checked and which wasn't, which raises questions for Formula1.com presenter, Will Buxton.

''A lot of headlines coming around about track limits. Verstappen said he lost a win, pole and fastest lap because of track limits. However, what Verstappen got a penalty for was in the race directors notes. There seems to be some disconnect. Either Red Bull doesn't read the notes, or Max isn't informed of them. It's all in black and white, so there's clearly something going wrong there. If something has changed, it's in bold pink," Buxton says in his latest vlog.

Verstappen makes mistakes

Buxton understands the confusion because the track limits are still a topic of discussion. In one corner they check the limits and in another, they don't. In qualifying, you immediately hit your limit. In qualifying you immediately lose time and in the race you can do it a couple of times. Buxton understands the confusion but does not agree with the conclusion Verstappen draws.

"It's incorrect to say that Verstappen lost a victory, pole and fastest lap because of track limits. You can also say that he lost it because of a mistake, because he went outside the track where he shouldn't have," Buxton concludes critically.