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Surprise after Verstappen's actions in Mexico: 'Old Max emerges'
Max Verstappen's penalties after his incident with Lando Norris at the Mexican Grand Prix have been the focus of this week. Former Formula 1 driver Marc Surer gave his opinion on the incident to Formel1.de.
McLaren and Norris were both disappointed with the Dutchman's driving after the Mexican Grand Prix. At the team, they felt that the 20-second penalty Verstappen received after his actions were still too little.
Former F1 driver Surer was asked whether Verstappen's actions were over the top, to which he replied with "The second time, definitely. He had no chance of making the turn. The first time, yes, he braked a little early because he was driving the racing line and was on the inside of turn 4. He braked a little early, and the other [Norris] was able to brake wonderfully beside him.
'The old Verstappen is coming back'
The Swiss driver carried on to say he was surprised by the three-time champions' actions. "He's great with Charles Leclerc, they had duels that were outstanding. They both respected each other, and both gave each other space. But now that it really matters [in the title battle with Norris], it seems to me that the old Max is coming out again. He seems to think, 'He won't pass me now or I'll just drive past him again, either way.' He did that in turns 7 and 8. He just dove in, took the corner and didn't have any himself to pass. And of course, the problem is that if there had been a gravel pit, he would never have made this action."
This article was written in collaboration with Cas van de Kleut.
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