It's fair to say that Max Verstappen's 2018 Japanese Grand Prix was incident filled, the 21-year-old finishing third despite two clashes with the Ferrari drivers, one of them resulting in a 5s time penalty.

Referring to the first lap clash with Kimi Raikkonen, which saw the pair touch - forcing the Finn off track - as the Red Bull driver recovered after locking up at the final chicane and cutting across the grass, subsequently being handed the time penalty, Verstappen said: "I locked up, I could easily have cut the track, I made my best effort to get back on track. He chose to go around the outside.

"He could have waited for me to understeer wide," he added. "So I don't know why I got a penalty. It is a bit stupid."

Unhappy at the penalty, he pointed to an incident late in the race as he shadowed Valtteri Bottas, who also cut across the chicane after locking-up.

"If I get a five-second penalty for that, then next time I'll just cut the track and do it like Valtteri," he said. "I was just trying my very best to still make the corner and not make it look like I'd locked up and just cut the corner. But I know what to do next time now."

Though no further action was taken regarding the clash with Sebastian Vettel at Spoon, Verstappen was adamant.

"In that corner you cannot overtake," he said. "I even gave him space. But he understeered into my car."

Asked whether he felt the German should have been penalised, the youngster compared the move to that which earned him a penalty in China.

"I'm not the one who makes the rules otherwise a lot of penalties would have been avoided in F1," he said, "but I think it is a similar scenario to what I had in China with him. Of course we didn't spin off the track, but he drove into the side of my car. He could have been a bit more careful."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Spindoctor, 15/10/2018 14:55

"Sad that someone who appears reasonably talented is so arrogant and apparently not too bright. Clearly he is following the Seb Vettel model of F1 driving - "...get out of my way, or we crash". We have all seen how that works-out when your car isn't vastly superior.

The 5 sec penalty was, and is a joke. No-matter what lame excuses he offers, he deliberately, and visibly, came back onto the track dangerously, nearly taking Kimi out. Incompetence is the generous assessment, red-mist\arrogance less generous, but probably more accurate.

Verstappen increasingly reminds me of Nico Rosberg: brimming with the belief, indeed expectation that he is somehow "entitled" to win. Both of course share moderately successful fathers, and have lived cosseted and unchallenged lives. I suggest "spoilt" as the most appropriate adjective.
Nico never grew out of it, let's hope that Verstappen does, and realises the potential his many fans see in him.

"

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2. Posted by Stitch431, 10/10/2018 19:12

"What is it you want to see? Racing gladiators or the love parade? Let the guys race like men and don't punish them for doing so."

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3. Posted by C5, 08/10/2018 17:00

"[imejl99] "For the first time in 20 years I stopped watching race I woke up for, and went back to sleep after I saw that 5 sec penalty. Didn`t even bother to watch it entirely on demand later in the day, just that fast forward option on the remote..."

Similar story here. After the "penalty" I just put the TV on mute and concentrated on my Solitaire game on my phone. No point in watching a race that is run by demolition derby rules."

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4. Posted by mickl, 08/10/2018 11:15

"It was a lenient penalty I thought but also inconsistent with what Vettel did later on in the race. The fact that Max said Kimi should have waited for him is a bit arrogant. Is Kimi supposed to say "after you" What should have happened is for Max to have given the place over to Kimi immediately and then try to retake it. The rules says the driver should rejoin in a safe manner which Max clearly didn't."

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5. Posted by imejl99, 08/10/2018 7:38

"For the first time in 20 years I stopped watching race I woke up for, and went back to sleep after I saw that 5 sec penalty. Didn`t even bother to watch it entirely on demand later in the day, just that fast forward option on the remote...

It is not this time, it is all the times he got away with it. And when opportunity presents for the stewards, and for the sport, to get him in line, it is missed again and again. Cocky comparisons with other driver moves, no penalties or meaningless ones, shows that his comfort zone for reckless racing is growing. There is no accumulated penalty, but those opportunities should be used better, for MV to grow as a driver and not as a brat. Never forget, motor sport is dangerous."

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6. Posted by zoom, 07/10/2018 19:39

"Max is certainly a whiney little girl. No longer have any patience. Isn't this is 3rd F1 season? If he hasn't learned anything by now he never will."

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7. Posted by Pavlo, 07/10/2018 18:59

"His arrogance in comments is annoying - as usual after his faults he blames others even though gets away with no penalty.
The actions themselves are normal - as a professional driver he does whatever allowed by stewards, and he learned the lesson. Pushing other driver off the track costs never more than 5 seconds, and mostly it’s fully acceptable price. If he can win the championship by not being a gentleman, it’s more than acceptable and many others did.
For the same reason Kimi had no option to stay behind and wait - Max was not even going to give him that place and would have not be penalized.
Such a pity we have so incompetent stewards. Really killing the sport."

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8. Posted by C5, 07/10/2018 18:54

"Yeah, banned for life is maybe a bit strong. Maybe. But, Verstappen should definitely have had a 3-race ban already last season, and should be on the verge of another one this season. It is simply not a coincidence that there's a crash or near-crash, and record levels of ass-hat behavior pretty much every time he overtakes or are being overtaken by a competitive driver (Russian not counting since that was all slower cars). Magnussen suffers from the same affliction and could suitably keep Verstappen company.

I am, however, completely in favor of a lifetime ban for the Sky commentators..."

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9. Posted by Batman, 07/10/2018 16:17

"That's why I think 18 years old it's to soon to have a F1 licence. Everyone needs time to learn and schools are the place to do it. F1 is not a school and therefore is not for school boys. This guy has talent, but his arrogance stinks."

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10. Posted by klmn, 07/10/2018 15:15

"I hate Ver because he faster than his teammate our Dani "

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11. Posted by Stitch431, 07/10/2018 15:03

"I don't think the finger pointing at Max is right. First on the case with Kimi Räikkönen: According to Alex Wurz, here in Austria the commentator, the artificial grass had just been dyed green, because of which he (Max) slipped straight and shot back onto the track as it were. It is also visible in the onboard that Max has completely steered the wheel to the left. He could do nothing more than he had already done here. Wurz would, if he was a steward on duty, not give an extra penalty because it is a race accident (no intention). A few races ago in Austria it was exactly the other way around and Kimi pushed Max of the track coming back onto it after sliding off. He did not get any punishment for that though...Then there is the action of Vettel who was clearly behind Max and then torpedoed into his side. Lucky for Max he got no damage and Vettel did himself no good and. Still, he should have been punished for this blunt fault but was not. Seems to me the FIA still wears Ferrari glasses.""

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12. Posted by Mad Matt, 07/10/2018 14:16

"I think banned from F1 for life is a bit strong :-)

On the other hand his move was dangerous and clearly designed to force his competitor off the track so Max didn't have to pay the price for his mistake. So, in my opinion, a 5 second penalty was very lenient. He forced Kimi off the track, he damaged Kimi's car and he didn't give Kimi back the place."

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13. Posted by F One, 07/10/2018 14:12

"Max should be banned from F1 for life. He's a dangerous arrogant child."

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14. Posted by Kkiirmki, 07/10/2018 11:32

"Verstappen made a mistake and left the track, running on to the 'grass'. It's part of his job to ensure he comes back on to the track in a manner that doesn't affect the race (and safety) of another competitor. Verstappen drove back on to the track, right in front of Kimi, giving him no where to go, forcing him off the track. Di Resta's comment: "Kimi committed himself...", is ridiculous. Committed himself to what, driving on the concrete part of the track? A totally justified penalty; may have even cost Kimi a podium."

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15. Posted by Mugmug, 07/10/2018 11:17

"I think Max is great future driver, but for now he's building a reputation as a "blame it on somebody else and it wasn't my fault " cry baby. "

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Verstappen warns, next time I'll cut the track

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