Max Verstappen not surprised FIA made an example of him over Lawson clash

That penalty is why Verstappen starts the Mexico City Grand Prix from the third row. He qualified fourth at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, but the drop puts him fifth and moves Kimi Antonelli up to fourth.

In his Dutch media session in the paddock on Saturday, Verstappen was asked whether he was surprised the stewards had used him to set an example. "No, that doesn't surprise me, because it's happened more often in the past," he replied. He added that this was also the case "with other things as well".

When asked whether he feels the stewards often single him out, the four-time world champion held back. "I don't want to say too much about that. It is what it is," Verstappen said.

"Of course, I have my own opinion on it, but I've already said everything that I wanted to say about it," the Dutchman continued, adding that he had said it "internally as well". He did not argue with the decision in public. "But yeah, that's just how it is. There's nothing you can do about it. Look, if they think this is already worthy of a penalty, then it's worthy of a penalty…"

The stewards' own reasoning explains why the example question came up at all. As GPblog reported in "FIA stewards reveal verdict on Verstappen and Lawson after FP2 crash", the decision document said an incident like this would normally result in a warning. This time, the panel chose to set an example.

According to Motorsport.com, one reason was that the topic had come up in the team managers' meeting. The other was that, after earlier practice incidents, the stewards felt it was time to put a stop to this kind of behaviour. Lawson received the same one-place drop and penalty point, though a later disqualification from qualifying means he starts from the back anyway.

With Lawson, at least, the matter now seems to be settled. "It's all fine between us," Verstappen told Dutch media with the two drivers sitting down together on Saturday morning, and Lawson said they had sorted things out.

Verstappen still would not get involved in the question of Lawson's future. Asked whether Lawson or Red Bull junior Nikola Tsolov deserves the Racing Bulls seat for 2027, he said the arrival of new talent makes the choice difficult. "Are you going to give that driver a chance or not? I'll leave that to the team," he said. Tsolov, who is second in the F2 standings, drove Lawson's car in first practice in Mexico as part of the team's evaluation.