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F1 Italian GP: Verstappen meets FIA amidst rivals’ criticism

Max Verstappen has met with FIA Race Director Charlie Whiting to discuss his race conduct after receiving widespread criticism for his aggressive driving during the Belgian Grand Prix.

The FIA has found itself under pressure to act after Kimi Raikkonen slammed the youngster after being forced off the track as they disputed position and having to take avoiding action the following lap when Verstappen changed line in the braking zone.

Coming after Verstappen and Raikkonen made contact in Hungary in a similar incident, significantly neither occurrence was investigated by the FIA stewards, prompting several drivers to express their frustration and Raikkonen to go as far as saying the Red Bull driver will 'cause a massive accident sooner or later'.

According to Sky Sports F1, Verstappen has met with Whiting at Monza to discuss the matter after the race director spoke with Raikkonen and Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel on Thursday.

Central to the debate is the fact there is no specific rule stating you cannot move under braking, which is partly believed to be the reason why stewards have not punished Verstappen previously. At best, there are rules which can be applied with regards to defensive driving.

Either way, rivals have called upon the FIA to ensure more consistency in the stewards' rulings.

"It is difficult, the important thing is to be consistent with the judgements but it is always going to be difficult as no situation is the same but it can always be improved," said Mercedes' Nico Rosberg. "That needs to be worked on because we have seen some incidents recently and Max is on the limit, that is obvious.

"With Kimi having to hit the brakes fully on the straight otherwise there would have been a shunt so that needs to be discussed as well. I'm sure that will be a topic the driver briefing and I am sure our friends in the red team are going to have something to say."

Zdroj: crash.net