Charles Leclerc considers normal the penalties received by Max Verstappen last weekend in Mexico after his maneuvers against Lando Norris. However, the Ferrari driver is not surprised that the three-time world champion is going all out in a title fight.
“The second maneuver on Lando, I think it’s beyond the limit” Leclerc said. “I also think that anyone in his position could do the same thing, because we are fighting for a world title and I think it would be very wrong to say that the drivers will do something different today.
The Monegasque has a theory about Verstappen being more extreme in his defense, although it must be remembered that the three-time world champion had already taken Lando Norris off the track in Austria.
“He thinks the car he has is not as good as it was at the start of the season. He thinks McLaren probably has a very good dynamic at the moment and they are all fighting for the drivers' title. “
“So it's difficult. Sometimes he goes over the limit, like in Mexico. But again, they are fighting for a world title. So I think it's understandable. Then it's up to the FIA to control that and to put limits on what is possible or not. And on this point, we try to work so that it is the best possible.
Carlos Sainz hopes that Verstappen will have learned a lesson from his penalties, even if the Dutchman's statements yesterday in conference and his past suggest that this will not be the case: “It’s not surprising in a sense, because he’s fighting for a lot and he knows he’s falling behind in terms of performance.”
“He is doing everything he can to minimize his loss of points. At the same time, I think this double penalty of 10 seconds was also a message from the stewards to say 'we are watching what you do and we want to keep the sportsmanship and the fight for the title is fair.”
“I think he got that message and knows that you can't go too far in this sport, because in the end you can pay the price. I really hope they have a good title fight, a fight that will always be remembered fairly, and that they can put on a good show.”
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