Red Bull 3rd and 4th after late-race clash with Vettel

The Red Bulls positioned themselves as the second force on the grid, capable of challenging the Mercedes during the race to spice up the end of the Drivers’ Championship contested by Rosberg and Hamilton. On the starting grid, the different tire choices gave the Austrian bulls an advantage, but at the first corner, the order was not overturned. Worse, Verstappen, after a maneuver known to be too daring, crashed his car into Rosberg’s. The wheel-to-wheel contact was investigated by the stewards, and a non-action was once again declared. The Dutchman was thus saved.

REPLAY: ROS and VES colliding at first corner on lap one. Stewards have investigated and will take no further action #MexicoGP 🇲🇽 #F1 pic.twitter.com/lUqikFVzIl

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 30, 2016

The great leniency of the race management raises many questions. When, three Grand Prix before the end of the season, a driver out of the race literally collides with the championship leader, spectators and especially Mercedes expect more firmness in the decisions made.

In the other matte blue single-seater, the start is more cautious. At the end of the first lap, Ricciardo chooses to pit to get rid of his super-softs, taking advantage of the deployed safety car. With the pace of a good comeback and the first wave of pit stops between laps 11 and 20, Ricciardo regained his 4th position from the start. But soon, the Australian found himself being chased by his teammate, who had fresher tires. Over the radio, Verstappen intimated that the Australian should let him pass so he could go after Rosberg, who was then in 3rd place. One lap later, Ricciardo complied.

As the laps were completed, the gap closed and on the 50th lap, the attack was launched. With a kamikaze move in turn 4, Verstappen went straight, allowing Rosberg to easily retake the lead. The German then built a comfortable lead to avoid a repeat, while Verstappen, struggling with tire wear, couldn’t keep up. He blamed his team for stopping him too early when he was on the super-softs at the start of the race: « I should have done a few more laps with the super-softs to get closer and overtake Nico (Rosberg) ».

  Meanwhile, Ricciardo returned to the pit lane once again to fit a set of softs to finish the race. The solid Australian in 5th place then went back out with determination: « Being the hunter at the end of the race is much more fun than just driving to bring the car home ».

In front of him, Vettel was catching up to Verstappen, who was struggling with medium tires that were about fifty laps old. The battle was gradually taking shape, with the German bringing Ricciardo in his wake. At the start of the 70th and penultimate lap, the fight began. Verstappen had Vettel and Ricciardo, both benefiting from DRS, behind him on the straight. During the braking, the Dutchman went straight and cut across the chicane. The message on Vettel’s radio quickly followed, demanding that Verstappen give the position back to Vettel after keeping it by cutting the chicane.

Indeed, for 1 to 2 seconds, the transponder in Vettel’s car showed him in 3rd place, before Verstappen cut the chicane and returned erratically to the track. From the pit wall, Red Bull also instructed their driver to give the position back to Vettel, but the young Dutchman remained silent.

Two laps later, Vettel was threatened by Ricciardo who had returned to his gearbox. At the braking of turn 4, Ricciardo made an attack. The Red Bull and the Ferrari were side by side, Ricciardo’s tires slightly grazing the side of the red car but the exchange remained clean and exemplary.

Two laps later, the three drivers cross the checkered flag in an unchanged order, but the two previously mentioned events are under investigation by the stewards. In car No. 5 Vettel is boiling, the German has accustomed us to outbursts on his radio, but it was beyond imaginable this Sunday. After shouting « Move over! Move over, for heaven’s sake! » towards Verstappen in the final hectometers and a « Seriously, am I the only one, don’t you see the same thing I do? He’s slowing me down and Ricciardo is catching up, damn it! » aimed at his team and race management. The messages from his pit wall to calm him down are not enough.

The German adds, “Yeah, well, you know what, here’s what I say to Charlie: go screw yourself! Honestly, go screw yourself!” This is a message that Charlie Whitting is unlikely to forget and which reveals Vettel’s simmering anger towards Verstappen, and possibly not just Vettel’s, as many paddock members are annoyed by the Dutchman’s behavior on the track.

On the track, the image is ambiguous, Vettel comes alongside Verstappen, and they exchange hand signals.

While he is in the back room of the podium, Verstappen is called out to let Vettel climb onto the podium. The race management penalized him for not returning his position, which he does not understand « When I went off the track at the end, it was very similar to what Hamilton did on the first lap. He went off and I think he gained an advantage, yet I didn’t take any advantage on my side, I was ahead at the braking and when I returned to the track I was at the same distance ahead, so I don’t understand the penalty. »

Same refrain from the Australian side about the incident at the start « I don’t understand the start either. How can you lead, lock up the wheels, go off track, and come back ahead? ». The speeches are coordinated in the Austrian team, Ricciardo adds « I think he deserved a penalty […] I think anyone doing that would have deserved a penalty »

A few hours later, the race management’s verdict was delivered on the incident between Ricciardo and Vettel. The German, rightfully accused by Ricciardo of moving during the braking zone, was penalized 10 seconds. The final standings favored the Austrian team, with Ricciardo taking 3rd place and Verstappen 4th.

The final word goes to Christian Horner « I’m happy to see that the stewards made the right decision regarding the Vettel-Ricciardo incident […] I’m delighted for Daniel (Ricciardo) who secured his 3rd place in the championship, he had an excellent season. He deserves it. Daniel and Max drove very well, pushing each other, they both pushed the limits and their level of cooperation, which is good to see. »