Max Verstappen acknowledges his mistakes and apologizes to Sebastian Vettel

The Red Bull drivers blew up the Shanghai race, but the contrast between the two teammates is striking: Daniel Ricciardo clinches a sixth victory starting from outside the top 5 on the grid. Outqualified by his teammate, the Australian managed to take the win at the checkered flag.

Yet, it was indeed Max Verstappen who was in an ideal position to claim the fourth victory of his career. But once again, he was carried away by his eagerness, which ultimately cost him dearly. At the start, he managed to stand out by weaving through. He had overtaken Lewis Hamilton very cleanly at the exit of the first corner before overtaking Kimi Räikkönen.

Then he was able to take advantage of the safety car by being the best-placed driver with fresh tires. He quickly launched an attack on Lewis Hamilton, who was on worn medium tires. But instead of patiently waiting for the end of the long straight, he wanted to seize the first opportunity that arose and attempted an overtaking maneuver on the outside of the track. As expected, the Briton resisted, and driver 33 was forced to run wide.

This was the turning point of the race as Daniel Ricciardo was then able to take advantage and overtake his teammate. The Australian was able to hunt down the leading drivers and eventually win. The Dutchman was forced to make a comeback against Lewis Hamilton, ultimately finding the opening.

He was still in a position to climb onto a podium that has eluded him since his victory in Mexico last year. Once he got past the Mercedes driver, he went after Sebastian Vettel. But once again, his attack went badly as he locked his rear tires and collided with the Ferrari driver, even though Vettel already knew he couldn’t hold him off.

Both spun out, but it was the Red Bull driver who fared better, managing to secure a fifth place despite a ten-second penalty imposed by the stewards. Sebastian Vettel showed restraint in his radio remarks, simply stating: “I don’t think I need to comment on what just happened.”

In Parc Fermé, Max Verstappen made the effort to see his rival and offer his sincerest apologies, which he reiterated in front of the journalists’ microphones: « Yes, I apologized. I saw him struggling with his tires and I tried to brake late. I locked the rear wheels and hit him. It’s obviously my fault. That’s not what we want. It’s easy to say in hindsight, but I should have waited. That probably would have been the best idea. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. »

Crushed from losing a race that was his until his pit stop, Sebastian Vettel chose not to add fuel to the fire and simply accepted the apologies of his rival, who had already made amends earlier in the weekend with Lewis Hamilton after their Bahrain clash: “I had no intention of resisting at all because it was clear, after being overtaken by Daniel, that there was no point in doing so: they were too fast on fresher tires. I didn’t want to compromise my race because of the guys coming back. He made a mistake, locked his wheels. It happens with a slipstream like that. I think he made a misjudgment that compromised both our races.”

If Sebastian Vettel still manages to retain the lead in the championship, Max Verstappen finds himself in eighth position, already 19 points behind his teammate… This only confirms the adage that one must take care of one’s vehicle if they wish to go far.