Max Verstappen received three penalty points to his Superlicence for two separate incidents during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, meaning the Dutch teenager now has eight on his licence after his first season in Formula 1.
The Scuderia Toro Rosso driver received one penalty point and a five-second penalty for running off-track while passing Jenson Button and gaining position, while two more points and a twenty-second penalty applied for ignoring blue flags later in the Grand Prix.
“We touched wheels, I ran wide. But I was clearly faster so I just continued,” said Verstappen about the Button incident afterwards. “I opened the gap more than five seconds. It doesn’t matter.
“If you finish 12th or 16th it doesn’t matter because you don’t score points.”
Verstappen reflected that it was just not his day on Sunday at the Yas Marina Circuit, ultimately dropping to sixteenth having finished outside the points in twelfth.
“It wasn’t my day today,” reflected Verstappen. “The pace was good, especially at the beginning, but it’s a shame that I locked-up my tyres into Turn 8 and therefore had to do an extra stop.
“From there on, my whole race was compromised and I knew it was going to be difficult to end up in the points. At least I enjoyed some last overtakes!
“It’s been a great season overall, I’ve really enjoyed my rookie season and I think we delivered some strong performances.”
