Max Verstappen has been given a three-place penalty for the next race after his collision with Lewis Hamilton at the Italian Grand Prix.
Championship rivals Verstappen and Hamilton collided while fighting for position at Turn 1 midway through the race. Hamilton held the inside line to Turn 1 and appeared to be ahead, although Verstappen had forced his car into the inside line for the left-hander which followed.
The pair banged wheels and Verstappen’s car ended up on top of Hamilton’s in the gravel trap.
The stewards reviewed the incident after the race and declared Verstappen “predominantly to blame” for the incident. He will serve the penalty at the Russian Grand Prix. He has also been given two penalty points on his superlicence.
The verdict explained: “The Stewards observed on CCTV footage that the driver of Car 44 [Hamilton] was driving an avoiding line, although his position caused Car 33 [Verstappen] to go onto the kerb. But further, the Stewards observed that Car 33 was not at all alongside Car 44 until significantly into the entry into Turn 1.
“In the opinion of the Stewards, this manoeuvre was attempted too late for the driver of Car 33 to have “the right to racing room”. While Car 44 could have steered further from the kerb to avoid the incident, the Stewards determined that his position was reasonable.”
Both drivers blamed the other for the incident.
Hamilton said Verstappen should have taken evasive action across the kerbs to avoid a collision, while Verstappen said Hamilton kept squeezing him until he had nowhere else to go.
Verstappen’s penalty is a reverse of the outcome of their collision at the British Grand Prix, where Hamilton was found “predominantly to blame”. As that verdict was given during the race, Hamilton served a time penalty at a pit stop, an option not available to the stewards on this occasion.