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Two-time Formula 1 champion Mika Häkkinen says he believes the FIA was right to apply a penalty after the race for Max Verstappen’s “dangerous driving”.
In his Unibet column Mika Häkkinen gave his opinion on the collision between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
“With Max being asked to give the lead back to Lewis, the solution was clear,” the Finn explained.
“When you have to let a car repass there is only one way to do it safely. That is to make a clear move to one side, come off the throttle slightly and allow the natural speed differential to enable your competitor to repass you.
“What happened in Jeddah was dangerous. Both drivers knew that the DRS activation line lay ahead, so neither wanted to be the first across it since that would enable the other driver to overtake them on the next straight.
“We also now know that while Max had been given the instruction to allow Lewis to pass, Lewis had not yet been informed and was momentarily confused.
“As a result I think the teams and FIA will need to look at the process, and perhaps the technology, used to send messages to drivers.
“Looking at what happened next, I do not believe that Max was ‘brake testing’ Lewis – that is, trying to force a collision which could easily have put both cars out of the race.
“Instead he was trying to force Lewis to overtake him at the point. However the way he slowed, and the position of his car on the track, was definitely a problem.
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“The FIA has revealed that Max’s car produced 2.4G-force under braking. To give you an idea of what that is like, a high-performance road car with ABS would produce about 1.2G under maximum braking.
“This was almost twice that, and we could see Max slowed from eighth to third gear in the process. Whatever the reason, it was not positive racing and the FIA was right to apply a penalty after the race.
“While we can argue about the size of the penalty – considering it did not change the results – the message is clear.
“Dangerous driving will lead to a penalty and if the FIA see a repeat of this kind of driving in Abu Dhabi I believe the penalty will be severe and immediate.”
Häkkinen adds he hopes we will see ‘positive’ racing in the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
“I have always been of the opinion that you have to race positively, not negatively.
“Winning the World Championship should be all about speed, precision, race craft and proving that you can beat the other driver in a straight fight – a sporting fight.
“That’s what I want to see next Sunday, and I know that’s what the FIA, Formula 1 and the fans want too,” Mika concluded.
