Verstappen’s anger at Lawson: Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane responds

It wasn’t just the GP experts and commentators who were surprised when, shortly after the start of the second practice session in Mexico, they witnessed Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson battling it out on the track. Neither of them was willing to back down, and so the inevitable crash ensued. Lawson and Verstappen were penalised twice over for their stubbornness.

Firstly, their cars sustained damage: Lawson’s front wing and Verstappen’s underbody were affected. Later, they had to answer to the stewards – Garry Connelly, Loïc Bacquelaine, Derek Warwick and Omar Chávez Jiménez – and both received a one-place grid penalty for the 19th Grand Prix of the season.

Verstappen remarked pointedly after the incident: “That probably wasn’t the smartest thing he tried to do there. Ultimately, it won’t change my weekend much. But if I were in his shoes, I’d take a slightly smarter approach. Especially as he’s fighting for his place – that wasn’t exactly clever.”

Alan Permane emphasised: “That was simply unnecessary”

Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane was asked about it and explained: “When you’re doing a formation lap or a cool-down lap here, it’s really important that you’re quick in the final sector. Both of them wanted to be fast there, and if I had to describe the whole thing in one word, I’d say it was simply unnecessary.”

When asked about the suggestion that Lawson is fighting for his seat for 2027 and that it was therefore not very wise, the Briton dismissed it: “No, that’s probably not the case. I’m sure they both have their own views on the matter. But once everything has calmed down, they’ll probably both think they could have handled it better. I know that both of them have been to see the stewards, and I don’t yet know what the outcome of that meeting will be. But one thing is certain: nobody here was looking for a fight. I think it was just one of those incidents… What can I say? It was simply unnecessary.”

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