Max Verstappen did not spare harsh words towards Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson after an incident between the two during the second free practice before the Mexico City Grand Prix.
The collision occurred in the opening minutes of the session in the stadium section of the “Hermanos Rodriguez“ track after a misunderstanding on the track. As a result of the contact, both cars suffered damage, and the stewards decided to penalize both drivers with one position back on the starting grid.
„Stupid behavior on his part“In front of the media after the end of Friday's day, the Dutchman was extremely direct and criticized the actions of his New Zealand colleague:
„I was on a fast preparation lap because I had some minor problems, so I was pushing pretty hard. He was driving terribly slow and I said to myself: „Okay, I'll overtake him.“ But the moment he saw me catching up, he started accelerating... I have no idea what was going through his head when he decided to try to push me off the track“, Verstappen said.
“In my opinion, it's pretty stupid behavior on his part, especially in the position he's in, to fight for his future, to decide to pick a fight with me“, added the four-time world champion.
The tension surrounding Liam Lawson's future in Formula 1 is welcome for Bulgarian hope Nikola Tsolov. The Bulgarian driver replaced Lawson for the first free practice session in Mexico and made an impressive debut.
Tsolov finished just 0.126 seconds behind his teammate Arvid Lindblad, demonstrating high speed and maturity, and after the session exclaimed: „Not bad for a boy from Bulgaria!“. The pressure on Lawson and his mistakes on the track could further open the door for the future of the Bulgarian lev in Formula 1.