“That’s just ridiculous”: Max Verstappen outraged by officials giving him a 10-second penalty after his incident with Lando Norris

Max Verstappen was outraged by the officials when he was given a 10-second penalty for his incident with Lando Norris during the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday. The Red Bull driver did not agree with the assessment of the stewards and mentioned that the punishment was 'just ridiculous'.

The three-time world champion was having a very smooth race at the Red Bull ring but suddenly found himself defending his race lead after a slow stop from the team. The two leading drivers went hammer and tongs to get the lead in the race but the contact on Turn 3 caused a puncture to both of their cars.

Although Max Verstappen was able to get to the pits to change tires and eventually finished in P5 behind Lewis Hamilton, it was the same luck for Lando Norris as he had to retire from the damage.

After the stewards gave the 10-second penalty, the Dutch driver on his team radio said:

"That’s just ridiculous. He can’t just send it left and right - what do you want me to do?"

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner agreed with his charge and replied:

"He didn’t behave correctly there Max. Desperately unlucky, especially here, but you did your very best."

F1 pundit gives his take on Max Verstappen-Lando Norris incident

Sky Sports F1 pundit Anthony Davidson stated that the fight between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris wasn't 100 percent 'fair'.

Speaking with Sky Sports, the Mercedes sim driver said:

"You're always looking for the car on the inside to give full width off the track. They touched and both had punctures. It's a shame to see because I was really enjoying it up until that moment. It wasn't always 100 percent fair. It was bubbling up into this situation."

He also commented if the off-track dynamic between Norris and Verstappen would change and added:

"The two of them know each other well. They game each other a lot so they know each others tactics but doing it in real life is very different and both will learn even more about each other after this."

Max Verstappen was able to extend his championship lead over Lando Norris as the former finished with 10 points while the McLaren driver failed to score any. The reigning world champion sits on 327 points while Norris stays on 156 points after 11 races and three Sprints thus far in the 2024 season.