The commissioners judged too strict by Pastor Maldonado

If the Hungarian Grand Prix can be considered the most exciting since the start of the season, it is mainly due to the numerous battles that took place. However, several of them did not happen without incident. In fact, there were no less than eleven race incidents. While drivers like Verstappen, Rosberg, or Ricciardo were spared after investigations concerning them, others like Verstappen, Hamilton, Grosjean, and especially Maldonado were forced to serve more or less severe penalties.

The Venezuelan driver thus received, in order, a drive-through penalty after a collision with Sergio Perez, another for speeding in the pit lane, and then a ten-second penalty for overtaking Stevens while the safety car was deployed. The driver, who finished 14th, regrets the attitude of the race stewards: « It was a tough race and the stewards were really strict with me and other drivers. I struggled at the start on the hardest tires, but then the strategy worked well once the soft tires were on… until the penalties impacted my race. »

He also revisited his clash with Perez: « With Sergio Perez, who was on the outside, it’s just a racing incident. There was nothing intentional. » Meanwhile, the Force India driver, who had to retire due to brake issues, believes the incident could have been avoided: « The contact with Pastor compromised my race. I couldn’t have been more cautious than I was, I left him plenty of room, but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. »

Shortly after the race, the stewards handed out several penalty points on the licenses for drivers deemed like Kvyat, Hamilton, Grosjean, Verstappen. In Maldonado’s case, he loses precisely two points, which means he only has six left. He thus seems to be slowly approaching a suspension. His teammate, Romain Grosjean, also has the same number.