"British bias is unreal": Fans unimpressed as pundit questions severity of Max Verstappen's penalty in Austria

F1 fans were unimpressed with pundit David Croft, who questioned whether Max Verstappen's 10-second penalty at the 2024 Austrian GP was enough. The Red Bull driver was handed a time penalty after his intense on-track battle and collision with Lando Norris in Austria.

During the latter stages of the race at the Red Bull Ring, leader Verstappen was being chased by Norris. The McLaren driver was able to catch up to the defending world champion due to fresher medium tires. They had several wheel-to-wheel moments where Verstappen defended his position and Norris pressurized the former.

On Lap 64, both their cars collided on Turn 3, where Norris once again tried to overtake the Red Bull star round the outside but wasn't given any space. As a result, Max Verstappen was given a 10-second penalty, while Lando Norris had to retire from the Austrian GP due to front-wing damage.

The incident was later discussed by a panel on Sky Sports F1, which included David Croft. During the talk, he questioned whether Verstappen's 10-second penalty was enough, considering Norris' retirement due to the collision.

Many fans flocked to X and criticized David Croft for thinking that the 10-second penalty for the Red Bull driver was not enough. They claimed that Croft and Sky Sports F1 crew were biased against Max Verstappen.

A few even recalled how the media house included Verstappen's crash at the 2021 British GP as a part of their Christmas advertisement.

"British bias is unreal," one fan wrote.

"Sky Sports Verstappen once again showing their bias. Silverstone 2021 was much, much worse and all you lot did was make a TV advert out of it. How utterly pathetic," exclaimed another.

"Same people who made copse into a Christmas advert btw," one added.

A few followers also compared Max Verstappen and Lando Norris' race-start tussle at the Spanish GP, where Norris forced Verstappen off the track on the grass at the beginning. They opined that Norris' move in Spain was much worse than Verstappen's in Austria.

One fan wrote that even the 10-second penalty was harsh and the entire clash was just a racing incident.

"If Max had not avoided the collision with Noris last week, and if he had not run over the grass, Max's car would also have been damaged. Pushing in the grass is dirtier than giving the other driver little space. It was Lando choice to crash. Max is a Winner, Lando is a whiner," opined one follower.

"10 seconds was too much. Racing incident, move on," a fan added.

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F1 pundit questions Max Verstappen's 10-second penalty at the Austrian GP

F1 pundit and commentator David Croft shared his views on Max Verstappen getting a 10-second penalty for his collision with Lando Norris at the Austrian GP. Speaking to Sky Sports F1, he opined that the penalty given to the three-time world champion was not enough since it did not affect his race after he pitted to fix his puncture.

"I don't know if 10 seconds was enough. I think in terms of the guidelines the stewards work to, I can understand why they gave that 10 seconds in the end. It had little or no bearing on his result after he came in to change tires," Croft said.

Croft further added that since the collision resulted in a driver, Lando Norris, retiring from the race, Max Verstappen should have been punished more severely.

"I'm not going to leave the calls for Max to get a grid penalty for the next race but was a 10 second penalty enough, considering that his move resulted in one driver retiring and him costing his own chance of a win?" he added.