Max Verstappen, as is becoming his custom, was central to a decisive moment during the Belgian Grand Prix which has fired up heated debate, with the the Red Bull teenager accusing Ferrari drivers of squeezing him, as they hurtled into Turn 1, which resulted in contact between the trio of podium contenders.
Speaking to media after the race, in which he finished eleventh thanks to damage incurred during the incident, Verstappen pulled no punches, “Of course the start wasn’t great but from there I dived up the inside, I didn’t lock a wheel so I was easily making the corner but they just kept squeezing me.”
“At one point I was on the inside, Kimi was again squeezing me and Sebastian just turned in on both of us. That took my front wing, I had a lot of damage and also the floor got destroyed so from there on your race is gone.”
Verstappen qualified second and was the darling of the crowd that descended in record numbers at Spa-Francorchamps to see their ‘home boy’ in action, but alas what might have been a podium or even a win turned into disappointment.
“It’s ridiculous,” continued Verstappen. “It’s good television if somebody is moaning. Especially after Turn 1 when they do something to you like that, I’m not going to give up my position to them that easy afterwards.”
Later in the race Verstappen and Raikkonen clashed again as the Dutchman blocked Raikkonen on the Kemmel Straight as the pair raced side-by-side towards Les Combes. The Red Bull driver diving to the inside later than the Ferrari driver expected.
This prompted an expletive laden tirade from the Finn who amid it all asked of his pitwall, “Do I have to let the Red Bull past? His only interest is to push me off the track.”
Red Bull team chief Christian Horner, Verstappen’s boss, conceded, “It was firm, it was on the edge. He got away with it. I’m sure he’ll have a good look at it and maybe learn a bit for future races.”
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