Sports

Verstappen and Lawson Penalised for Practice Collision in Mexico City

By Alan Baldwin

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson each received a one‑place grid drop after their cars collided during the second practice session for the Mexico City Grand Prix. Both drivers were also issued a penalty point. The stewards, after hearing from the drivers, decided to upgrade the penalty from a formal warning to a grid drop because of earlier similar incidents this season. The incident occurred 13 minutes into the session when Verstappen, a four‑time world champion, dove inside Lawson at Turn 12. Lawson held his position through Turn 13 before contact was made. Debris from the collision scattered across the track and the session was stopped to clear it. Verstappen said, “Maybe not very smart behaviour what he was trying to do there. At the end of the day, it is not going to change my weekend, but if I were him, I would act a little smarter, and when you’re fighting for your seat, it’s not very smart behaviour.” Lawson replied over the team radio, “He literally just drove into me.” Racing Bulls team boss Alan Permane called the actions “unnecessary” and said both drivers could have handled the situation better. The incident involved teammates from Red Bull, who own both teams. The report was provided by the Australian Associated Press.