Verstappen has no regrets about Ocon scuffle

Two weeks on from their altercation at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen has no regrets about pushing Esteban Ocon.

Published : Nov 23, 2018 00:55 IST

Max Verstappen during the press conference on Thursday ahead of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen during the press conference on Thursday ahead of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
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Max Verstappen during the press conference on Thursday ahead of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen has no regrets about the way he reacted towards Esteban Ocon after their collision at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Verstappen pushed and shoved Ocon in the weighing room following the race in Sao Paulo, the Dutchman angry at the way his rival had behaved on lap 44 when he was being lapped.

Rather than move over for Verstappen – who was leading the race at the time – Ocon tried to unlap himself, but he ended up colliding with the Red Bull, sending them both spinning off the track.

Verstappen saw his chance of back-to-back race wins disappear as a result, and he let his frustrations out at the conclusion of the race – actions which saw him ordered to do two days of public service by the FIA.

Both men were in Thursday's press conference ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and, when grilled about the post-race altercation, Verstappen insisted he would do the same again if the situation arose.

"I honestly don’t understand what I should do differently so, no [I have no regrets]," he said.

"I was after an apology and I got a bit of a different response. We are all emotional, just at the time that I had lost a victory, so I think from my side I was really calm. It could have been much worse. 

"I think pushing, in any sport, it happens. I actually saw it a few days ago in football again. So from my side, I thought it was quite a calm response.

"What do you expect me to do, like shake his hand, like thank you very much for being second instead of first? I think it's quite a normal response. Okay, I got my two days with the FIA, which we will find out what we're going to do

"You guys don't really hear what's actually being said at the scales. You just see me pushing. But if you understand the whole conversation, I think it's a bit different."

Ocon is keen to put the incident behind them, and the Racing Point Force India driver offered an apology to Verstappen.

"It's not a great thing, you know, to be involved with a crash with the leader," he said. "It's not a thing you want to see and I’m sorry for Max. It was his race to win, he did a fantastic job during the whole race.

"Things that happen, you can't come back from what has happened but yeah, that's how it is, we have to move forward.

"We can't change the past. I'm sure, even if Max said the opposite, he would like to come back on what he did after the race. Yeah, I think it's done, we can't change it and now we have to move forward."

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