Following the altercation between Red Bull Racing drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, a discussion has started within F1 about possible penalties to be handed out for causing a red flag. Toto Wolff defends Perez at the FIA press conference.

Verstappen refused to move ahead of Perez in Brazil, after which rumours emerged that the Dutchman had done so in response to Perez's crash in Monaco. Perez's crash at the start of this season during Monaco qualifying prevented Verstappen from setting a fast lap and the Mexican started ahead of his teammate. Perez then managed to win the race.

Perez and Brown call for Monaco to be abandoned

The FIA said it was open to investigating the incident. Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz additionally asked if it would not be possible to hand out heavier penalties for drivers who cause a red flag. During the FIA press conference, Zak Brown began to tell GPBlog.com: "In other classes of motorsport, penalties are already handed out in such situations. For example, you then lose your fastest lap of that session. That would penalise the driver whether it was deliberate or not. You ruin someone's lap. It's an easy fix."

Brown thinks Monaco was too long ago to go into it now. Mercedes team boss Wolff agrees with the McLaren team boss' proposal. Wolff: "About the Monaco incident; we have to put that behind us. I have known Sergio for a long time and I wonder if a driver would really put his car into the wall on purpose, risking damaging his gearbox. If you want to stop your car, you'll do it some other way. The PR crisis around that team in recent weeks was big enough and I don't think we need another one."

Editor-in-chief Tim Kraaij reported from Abu Dhabi for this article