Max Verstappen was not looking happy through Friday’s practice sessions at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, as most of his long runs and qualifying runs were hindered by either traffic or by mistakes from other drivers.
One such episode took place during FP1 around the exit of turn 1, where Esteban Ocon had just completed his flying lap and was setting himself up for a cooldown lap. Subsequently, Verstappen, who had just warmed up his tires for a flying lap had to abort the lap barely seconds after getting onto the throttle.
Ocon did everything in his power to stay out of the racing line; The Frenchman ran wide off the exit of turn 1, offering Verstappen a clear path ahead. However, it was a bit too late, as Verstappen had already given up on his flying lap.
Of course, this would have frustrated the Red Bull driver. And, amidst the visible frustrations, what followed was a rather skeptical action from the Dutchman who denied Ocon an opportunity to join the track. Was it deliberate? Or was it because he locked his tires up himself? Let’s unravel the truth.
Did Max Verstappen deliberately force Ocon off the track?
A lot of viewers opined Verstappen himself locked his tires up going into turn 1. Of course, we certainly cannot neglect that reason.
However, looking at the replay, it is quite obvious that whatever happened around the entry into the first corner, Verstappen got his car back under control by the time he reached the kerbs around the exit of turn 1.
Hence, Verstappen could have easily kept his car on the track, considering he had already given up on the lap and his car was barely reaching the optimum cornering speed.
But, in reality, he chose to roll his Red Bull deeper into the corner by not turning his steering wheel to the left. Instead, Verstappen kept it firmly straight, as he almost crashed into Ocon, who was then looking to re-join the track.
Consequently, the Alpine driver had to take evasive action to avoid contact with Verstappen. The duo came agonizingly close together and could have led to a controversial accident had neither of them reacted to it, much like the 2018 Brazilian GP.
This has caused an uproar amongst the F1 fans. So, let’s hear it from you. Do you think Verstappen’s action was deliberate? Or could Ocon have done better at staying out of Verstappen’s path?
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