Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri’s first corner crash helped to inject some life into Formula 1’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last weekend.
McLaren’s hopes of ending a 16-year championship drought were dealt a major blow in front of their eyes when Red Bull’s four-time champion speared into the side of Piastri.
Verstappen apologised to Piastri immediately after the race, admitting fault for the incident which he was penalised to the tune of 10 seconds.
Helmut Marko has warned Verstappen to be careful after the incident, which saw him pick up another two penalty points.
He has eight for the 12-month period now, with the next coming off his record in June leaving him vulnerable to a race ban with two more big incidents.
Aiming for a fifth-consecutive drivers’ crown against the likes of Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton next year with a ban to serve will only hurt his chances in a car which has fallen behind its rivals.
Giedo van der Garde blames Oscar Piastri’s fiery Max Verstappen radio message on anger
The turn-one incident at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix saw Piastri relegated to the back of the field and facing the wrong way.
In response to the move, the Australian said “Yep, move of a World Champion, that one,” taking a dig at Verstappen for his tactics.
After the race, McLaren boss Andrea Stella said he can’t trust Verstappen heading into 2025, with the Dutchman always turning up at races expecting to be slower before finding more pace.
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He did it in Abu Dhabi, where he wasn’t expected to be at play during the race before finding some more pace on Saturday and qualifying well.
Giedo van der Garde blamed Piastri’s fiery radio message on anger, telling the DRS: De Race Show that he too has said ‘strange’ things in that state before.
“I have also said strange things when I was angry,” he said.
Can Max Verstappen claim a fifth consecutive F1 title in 2025?
Looking at the state of play at the end of the season, Verstappen and his team ought to be looking over their shoulders in both championships.
The only thing that Red Bull dominated McLaren and Ferrari in on the track was their pit stop times.
Ending the season with the third-fastest car leaves them with a lot of work to do over the winter, but there is the threat of one factor if they fail to improve.
READ MORE: How McLaren ‘caused problems’ for themselves in title battle with Max Verstappen and Red Bull
Verstappen could escape his Red Bull contract if they remain behind their rivals, leaving them with another driver hunt on their hands.
As multiple champions and the class of the field for much of the last few seasons, they shouldn’t have to face that scenario.
Replacing Sergio Perez could prove to be their biggest hurdle and one which they will face over the coming weeks.
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