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Brundle critical of Verstappen after Abu Dhabi: "Not fair or smart of him"
Martin Brundle has said that Max Verstappen's collision with Oscar Piastri at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and then his subsequent reaction during the race towards the FIA was "not fair or smart of him." After the race, the Dutchman quickly went over to apologise to the Australian for the incident, which Brundle was content with, despite some choice words in the middle of the race.
It was a race that was vitally important for Piastri and McLaren, with the papaya-coloured team looking to seal their first constructors championship on the line since 1998, hoping to keep their 21-point gap to Ferrari at bay. However, the Lap 1 collision between Verstappen and the Australian gave McLaren a huge scare, with that incident sending Piastri tumbling down the order.
"McLaren needed all their experience and calm when at the very first corner of the race Max Verstappen sliced his Red Bull up the inside second-place man Piastri and they made contact, both heavily losing out with Piastri falling to the very back," Brundle said, explaining the incident in his column for Sky Sports.
'Verstappen shouldn't have taken that 50/50 risk' says Brundle
McLaren used all their experience and calm to guide their team to their first team title in 26 years thanks to Lando Norris' win, with the Piastri incident not having a detrimental effect when the chequered flag fell at the Yas Marina Circuit. Still, former F1 driver Brundle was not too impressed by the rash move made by Verstappen.
"Verstappen claimed he was fully alongside, but he wasn't. Perhaps Piastri could have left a bit more space, but I doubt he saw the late lunge. Ayrton Senna famously said that if you don't go for a gap you're no longer a racing driver, but Max really didn't need to take that 50/50 risk for either of them," the commentator and pundit continued by saying,
Brundle was also critical of Verstappen's comments during the Grand Prix broadcast. He continued to be so in his column, but he compliments the Dutchman for apologising to Piastri immediately after the race: "After getting a 10-second penalty, Max called the stewards in the car 'stupid idiots', which is not at all fair or smart of him. But a pacified Max did apologise to Oscar and McLaren after the race," concluded the Brit.
This article was created in collaboration with Nicole Mulder
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