Breaking news
Formula 1 Japanese GP
Verstappen hits out at "irresponsible" Leclerc
Max Verstappen has labelled Charles Leclerc's driving in the Japanese Grand Prix as "irresponsible", saying that "doesn't understand" the decision not to penalise the Ferrari driver.
Lucy Morson
Published: Oct 13, 2019, 7:30 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Leclerc had started the race from second on the grid but got a poor getaway, while Verstappen was able to sweep his Red Bull past the fourth-starting Lewis Hamilton to gain an advantage heading into Turn 2.
But the Ferrari driver ran deep into the corner before going wide, then colliding with Verstappen and forcing him off the track.
The stewards initially deemed the collision a racing incident that did not require an investigation, before reopening the case some laps later to be looked into after the race.
Verstappen ultimately retired his Red Bull on lap 15.
"At T2, Charles just drove into the side of my car," said Verstappen in a post-race interview to Sky.
"From my side I don't think I could have done anything different there. We all know that you lose downforce behind a car so that is not an excuse, he's experienced enough to know that.
"For me, the weird thing is that initially they don't investigate it - the whole car was destroyed, there were just holes in the side of the car.
"Now they've started to investigate it but it's after the race, what more should he do to get a penalty? I like hard racing but this wasn't hard racing, just irresponsible driving.
"They had a bad start so he was trying to recover but there's only so much you can do in a very long race. It's a shame that it happened."
Leclerc did not attribute blame to Verstappen for the incident after the race and said it was a "tricky situation" that he would need to see a replay of.
"Obviously I understeered being behind Seb and Lewis, and then we touched, I don't know what happened from the full situation from the outside, and this I need to look at," said Leclerc.
"From the car it was just a tricky situation."
Sebastian Vettel was also briefly under investigation for a jumped start, but ultimately escaped a penalty - with Verstappen unhappy with the inconsistency from the FIA.
"Also, just watching the footage back from Seb's start, he moves, he stops - the rules say you cannot move," said Verstappen.
"It's fine because he didn't gain an advantage there, I really don't understand what's going on today with the rules."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article FIA: Vettel start was "within acceptable tolerance"
Next article Leclerc gets double penalty for clash, late stop
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Lucy Morson
Bottas expects "decent step" from Mercedes upgrades
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Bottas expects "decent step" from Mercedes upgrades
Lotterer, Chadwick and Ogier join Extreme E driver programme
Extreme E
Extreme E
Lotterer, Chadwick and Ogier join Extreme E driver programme
Coulthard "doesn't understand" high-profile W Series critics
W Series
W Series
Coulthard "doesn't understand" high-profile W Series critics
More from
Charles Leclerc
The mistakes that cost Lewis Hamilton a podium at F1’s US GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
The mistakes that cost Lewis Hamilton a podium at F1’s US GP
Fred Vasseur reveals two costly moments that denied Ferrari US GP double podium
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Fred Vasseur reveals two costly moments that denied Ferrari US GP double podium
More from
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc reacts to Ferrari fear: 'We know what line not to cross'
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Charles Leclerc reacts to Ferrari fear: 'We know what line not to cross'
Why Ferrari failed to deliver on its hype in F1's United States GP qualifying
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Why Ferrari failed to deliver on its hype in F1's United States GP qualifying
Latest news
Cetilar unveils blue Ferrari 499P ahead of Hypercar debut
Asian Le Mans
AsLM Asian Le Mans 30 min
Cetilar unveils blue Ferrari 499P ahead of Hypercar debut
2026 MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix – How to watch, session times & more
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Malaysian GP
1 h
2026 MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix – How to watch, session times & more
"Two steps forward, one step back" – Oscar Piastri explains the route out of McLaren's car woes
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
2 h
"Two steps forward, one step back" – Oscar Piastri explains the route out of McLaren's car woes
Denny Hamlin proud of season despite another likely missed title
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
3 h
Denny Hamlin proud of season despite another likely missed title
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe