Two prominent figures in Formula 1 believe Max Verstappen will tone down his aggressive racing style as the season heads into its final stretch.
After the championship leader's controversial move on Lando Norris in Austin—where the McLaren driver was penalized despite being run off track—it was Verstappen who faced consequences in Mexico. The Red Bull star received two 10-second penalties and two penalty points on his super license after his wheel-to-wheel battles with Norris.
When Franco Colapinto heard about the penalties on the radio during the race, the Williams rookie was shocked, exclaiming, "20 second penalty? My God, what has he done?"
Despite the penalties, Verstappen remained defiant in Mexico, insisting he wouldn't change his driving style. His father, Jos Verstappen, supported his son's approach, telling f1-insider.com, "Max should just carry on driving as he has been doing. I reminded him that Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher were also often subjected to harsh criticism from England. He is in very good company there."
However, former Haas team boss Gunther Steiner believes the heavy penalties will force Verstappen to tweak his tactics. "We all know Max and the way he drives," Steiner told Eurosport France. "I have a lot of respect for the way he looks for the limits of what is acceptable.
"In Austin, he said 'There are no limits for me - I'll just keep attacking'. I don't blame Max for that. I would rather blame the lack of a penalty in Austin."
Steiner added, "If he had had a 5-second penalty there, I'm sure he wouldn't have done what he did in Mexico. But now, with a big penalty, it changes."
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff agrees, praising the Mexican GP stewards' decision. "I think that was a really good stewards decision because it will now be clear in the future that this dirty driving is no longer allowed," Wolff told Osterreich newspaper.
"A horrendous penalty of 20 seconds is the right precedent to ensure that something like this doesn't happen again."
Wolff also commented, "When you get away with something, that's the new limit. A driver will always push to the limit. We won't see anything like what we saw in Mexico again—a Max Verstappen who pushes other drivers off the race track in a duel."
However, some feel that Norris' approach is 'too nice' to compete with Verstappen's aggressive style in a head-to-head title fight.
Steiner noted, "In general, we could say yes—he is too nice. But I think Lando wants to race respectfully and fairly, within the rules and nothing more." He added, "Norris could have crashed into Max once or twice, but it would not have helped him. It also shows the kind of driver he is—he wants to show that he can do it fairly."
