"Could we ask for 20 seconds? Stupid idiots": Max Verstappen blasts the FIA stewards during the F1 Abu Dhabi GP
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has criticized the race stewards for giving him a 10-second penalty for his collision with McLaren driver Oscar Piastri at the beginning of the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Dutch driver made an excellent start off the line from P4 as he jumped ahead of Ferrari's Carlos Sainz.
Verstappen went to Piastri's inside to get another position and move into P2 but couldn't control the car and understeered a little bit off the curb, sliding into the Australian's side. The collision sent both drivers spinning with Verstappen regaining the spin quicker and joining the top 10 while Piastri only joined the back of the pack.
The incident earned Verstappen a 10-second penalty which he served at his pit stop. The four-time F1 world champion called out the stewards (via Sky Sports):
"Could we ask for 20 seconds? Stupid idiots."
Former F1 driver and pundit Martin Brundle wasn't entirely happy with Max Verstappen's comment and said:
"You can't say that about referees. That's just not fair. They are applying the regulations. Don't run into other people and you won't get penalties."
Hours before the race, another former F1 driver predicted Verstappen's collision with a McLaren to hinder its bid to win the Constructor's Championship.
Juan Pablo Montoya predicted Max Verstappen "dive-bombing" into McLaren
Speaking with Vision4Sports, Colombian former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya said:
“Max Verstappen could change that championship pretty quickly. He wants to win it and if he’s going against McLaren, he’s going for it. The McLaren needs to get out of the way if they are to win the Constructors’, and I think McLaren, in their mind, knows they just got to run around and bring the cars home.
With [McLaren driver] Lando (Norris) especially, and the McLaren guys in Abu Dhabi, if Max is behind them, he is going to dive bomb in there and if they turn, they’re going to crash. But they cannot crash because they need the points, and Max knows that.”
The Red Bull driver was running in P7 with 15 laps in the race with Oscar Piastri trying to make his way into the points at the time of writing.