© Jiri Krenek for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Mercedes Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin says Max Verstappen’s penalty at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was “quite clear-cut”.
Andrew Shovlin says Max Verstappen’s defensive move in the first corner on Lap 37 of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was not fair, as he didn’t make the corner, left the track and ran Lewis off the track too in the process.
“We thought there was a lot of similarity to Brazil,” Shovlin said after the race.
“Where if you’re defending on the inside, and you don’t make the corner and you run another car off track in the process, that it’s not a fair defence.
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“When we read the regulations about not being allowed to leave the track without a justifiable reason, [and] without gaining a lasting advantage, we thought it was quite clear-cut.
“At that stage, Michael Masi had said to them that they should give the position back, so it seemed that we weren’t alone in that opinion.
“The penalty itself was for not giving the position, it wasn’t for actually going off track,” concluded the Briton.
Verstappen received another ten-second penalty after the race for his involvement in the collision with Hamilton, while he was apparently trying to give his position back.
