Category: Formula One

Since 2015, wherever Max Verstappen has gone, controversy has followed. It was no different at this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix, when he got involved in a post-race scuffle with French driver Esteban Ocon.

Firstly, let’s go over how the messy chaos descended. Max Verstappen had taken the lead of the race from Lewis Hamilton, and was seemingly cruising home towards the finish, looking after his car and maintaining the gap back to the newly crowned five-time world champion.

Ocon pitted, but a slow stop put him well outside the points and a lap down to Verstappen. He was however, on fresh tyres, and quicker than a conserving Verstappen. As a result, his Force India team told him to un-lap himself, which is perfectly legal, so as to gain back some time. He went round the outside into turn one, but Verstappen defended the inside and was in front going into turn two. Ocon, however, stayed on the inside, and the two collided. They both span, resulting in there being absolutely no chance on Ocon scoring points, and costing Verstappen the win to Hamilton. As the two recovered back onto the track, Verstappen held a finger up at Ocon – you can probably guess which one.

Ocon, as a result of the incident, was given a 10-seond stop-go penalty, but this was of little consolation to Verstappen. After the race, as the drivers headed to obligatorily get themselves weighed, Verstappen stormed over to Ocon and pushed him several times. There were words exchanged between the two, and they were sent to the stewards – with Verstappen given a two “community service order”. They then, walked out of the office and shook hands, which was probably more for show than anything else.

If it was just for the cameras, should there really be any need for it? Do we honestly need to be made to think that the issue between them is resolved?

Whilst all of this was going on, social media erupted – along with the sports media too.  Many chastised Verstappen for his actions, blowing the whole thing out of proportion,  when in reality, it was something that in a sport played out at 200 MPH, we should actually be surprised we don’t see more often. A bit of heated argument between the drivers after the race is healthy for the sport in my view – it is a sign of the passion and hunger that these racers have, and it gives us something to talk about.  F1 drivers work so hard on and off the track for each and every single race, and if something goes wrong, the work is all for nothing. If it is someone else’s fault, then of course there’s going to be an awful lot of anger and frustration.

The incident does not just stem from this race – Verstappen and Ocon have a storied history; They grew up racing each other in the junior categories. Which  developed into an extremely strong and tense rivalry as they battled for championships. It was almost destined to reach boiling point in Formula One at some stage.

Furthermore, let’s look back at history. Ayrton Senna was applauded for punching Eddie Irvine after the Japanese Grand Prix of 1993, and Michael Schumacher got a similar reaction for making a beeline for David Coulthard after their crash in the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix. The fans also loved the fight between Nelson Piquet and Eliseo Salazar at the 1982 German Grand Prix, as it was yet further proof of how much the drivers exert themselves and how invested they are mentally, emotionally, and physically.

These were all examples of raw emotion in Formula One, and in a sport full of adrenaline as soon as the visor goes down and the lights go out, it’s really something we need to see more of.

Instead, these days, drivers have to follow extremely tight procedures following a race. Race winner get little time to celebrate with their team before being scuttled off to the podium, and there is almost a discouragement in society of sportsmen and women showing that raw emotion. Instead, everything gets very controlled and it becomes – frankly, boring.

Any showing of this emotion now seems to get punished instead of revered. Many fans feel it is zapping the passion out of the sport, and along with the controlled nature of F1 – if the truth be told, both fans and drivers are falling out of love for a sport which simply no longer allows for people to truly say what they think; even interviews are so calm – almost too calm at times.

Of course, it should not by any means be encouraged that drivers go round punching other drivers (or marshals, in James Hunt’s case), we’ll leave that to the likes of Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, but the fact that Verstappen’s anger after the race was frowned upon so greatly by the media is a prime example of the processional nature that Formula One has unfortunately adopted.

Featured image courtesy of Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

After the Fiesta in Mexico, it’s Samba time in Brazil, and you would scarcely believe that it was 10 years ago that Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa had one of the most dramatic championship finishes in F1 history in Brazil – which Lewis Hamilton clinched the 2008 championship with seconds left of the race.

And, as the F1 Bandwagon rolls into Sao Paulo, Hamilton has since added four more to his tally, including this year, sealing the title in Mexico last time out, as he did last year, and he will aim to do what he has been unable to do the last two times he has won the championship before the last race; win.

Subconsciously perhaps, he switched off in 2015 and 2017 after winning the championship in both those seasons, and this trait is something that both Ferrari and Valtteri Bottas may be looking to capitalise upon in Brazil. Can Bottas finally win a race in what has been a desperately unlucky season for him, with strategies, punctures and team orders thus far costing him victories. However, with Hamilton already crowned, Bottas will surely be allowed to win should he be ahead.

We arrive at the 4.3 kilometre Interlagos circuit, which is situated in a rainforest; this particular rainforest has tossed up all sorts of whacky races at the track since its F1 inception in 1973, creating intense championship showdowns in 2008 and 2012.

This will be the first Brazilian Grand Prix in recent years not to feature a Brazilian driver, with Felipe Massa having retired from the sport last season.  Considering the rich history Brazil has in F1, with incredible races along with some of the best racers F1 has ever seen, such as Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet, and of course, the great Ayrton Senna – its quite sad not see a Brazilian replacement for Massa.

Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull will be in Brazil, but whether it will take the Aussie to the chequered flag is another issue entirely. Despite his comments in Mexico, he will of course be racing in Brazil, but he and Max Verstappen are not expected to be in contention for victory, at a track with far better suits Mercedes and Ferrari.

Ferrari took victory last year, with race winner Sebastian Vettel with third place going to Kimi Raikkonen sandwiching Valtteri Bottas. Hamilton missed out on a podium finishing 4th; due to a crash in qualifying, which meant he started the race from the pit lane due a gearbox and PU units change.

With both the US and Mexico grandprix, Ferrari have found their form that deserted them pre spa. Even with Mercedes on the back-foot, they still have a fifty-five point advantage over the Italian team in the constructors championship.

Besides the battle for the constructors, there is still a lot of pride at stake, Esteban Ocon will see this race as a hopeful audition for a seat at Williams alongside George Russell next year, Sergey Sirotkin will be hoping to show he deserves to stay at the British team, and Brendon Hartley is fighting to keep his drive at Toro Rosso.

The Drivers’ championship may be over, but there’s still a lot that needs to be settled as F1 reaches the penultimate race of 2018.

Image courtesy of Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool