Max Verstappen would put F1’s racing guidelines through a shredder

Max Verstappen has joked he would shred F1’s racing guidelines if he were in charge.

Oscar Piastri’s controversial race-wrecking 10-second time penalty in Brazil has brought the subject of F1’s racing guidelines back into the limelight. 

Even Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who was wiped out in the three-way collision that also involved Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes, defended Piastri and felt the championship contender’s penalty was harsh.

Speaking ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, four-time world champion Verstappen made his stance on the current guidelines clear.

“I don’t always like the rules we have, but I simply follow them as they’re written,” the Red Bull driver told Dutch media.

When asked if he feels F1 has become too complicated, Verstappen replied: “You could say that, yes. The problem is that the more rules you create, the harder you make it for yourself.

“In the end, that’s not even about the stewards, because they just follow the rulebook. You see something with your own eyes, you form an opinion, but when you look at the rules, it might be different again.

“So, what do you apply? The stewards are in a difficult position. I experienced that myself during my great day in Marrakesh. The stewards were super nice, but in the end, they’re bound to that rule book.

“It sometimes makes it really difficult to make the right decision.”

Verstappen continued: “I think Carlos and George [Russell] already have everything prepared for that one, so I’ll just sit back and relax.”

He then joked “I’d just…” while mimicking the action of putting documents through a shredder.

What do other drivers think?

Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) Director Carlos Sainz was particularly vocal about F1 needing to review its racing guidelines, with the Williams driver branding Piastri’s penalty as “unacceptable”.

"Everyone that's really raced a race car knows he could have done nothing to avoid an accident there and he got away with a 10-second penalty,” the Spaniard said on media day in Las Vegas. "It’s something that I don't understand.

"I didn't understand my Zandvoort penalty. I didn't understand why Ollie got a penalty when we both collided in Monza. He was not deserving of that penalty and I told him straight out of the race. I didn't understand how I caught a 10-second in Austin. And then the Brazil situation.

"There's been not one but multiple incidents this year that for me are far from where the sport should be.”

Meanwhile, fellow GPDA director George Russell thinks a permanent set of stewards would improve things. 

“There's a bit of a wording, or a view, that if a car is locking up it's deemed to be out of control,” the Mercedes driver said.

"This corner in Brazil is totally cambered into the corner, the inside of the car is always going to be unloaded and that tyre is not even on the ground, so that tyre is locking but you're totally in control.

"So that's why it has to be guidelines and you have to treat every single corner, every circuit, every incident totally different."