The start of the Brazilian Grand Prix was rather calm, but the safety car still had to take to the track following a spin by Magnussen, caused by Daniel Ricciardo. Both drivers retired, leaving 18 drivers on track led by the safety car.
At the end of the safety car, Russell, the leader, decided to start the race very late. Hamilton was somewhat surprised by this late restart and found himself caught up by Verstappen behind him. On the inside of the first corner, Hamilton couldn’t defend the second right-turning corner and saw Max Verstappen take the inside line.
Hamilton then attempted to turn but collided with Verstappen, causing him to lose a portion of his front wing. Hamilton’s car, on the other hand, held up well and the seven-time F1 World Champion was able to stay on track.
If one can think of yet another race incident between the two drivers, who are accustomed to incidents in their fight for titles in recent seasons, the FIA has decided to penalize Verstappen, who prevented Hamilton from taking his turn. The Dutch driver has been penalized with a 5-second time added during his pit stop. He is also penalized with two points on his super license.
On the radio, Verstappen appeared surprised. « I don’t understand why, I was on the inside, but anyway it doesn’t matter. »
At the moment of his pit stop, Verstappen had an issue with his right rear tire, causing him to lose more than 10 seconds during this stop.
