Mercedes have been given an initial nod by FIA chiefs over their request to review the incident from the Brazilian Grand Prix which saw Max Verstappen send himself and Lewis Hamilton off-track, but the Red Bull racer isn’t unduly worried and says he wouldn’t change his approach.
The pair came close together once more as the Brit tried to overtake his Dutch rival, with Verstappen’s course sending Hamilton wide.
Stewards opted against taking action during the race but subsequent footage became available later on, prompting Mercedes to appeal and they will hold a videoconference with the FIA on Thursday afternoon.
Verstappen says he hasn’t looked back at the incident and pointed out that he would do exactly the same again because, as a race driver, he already knows the capabilities of his car and what he needs to do to take on each turn of the course.
“I didn’t need to look at the footage because I was driving the car, so I know exactly what happened,” he said.
“And like I said last time out, I thought it was a great battle and I had a lot of fun as well out there. At the end of the day they won the race, fair enough. They were faster than us. But I thought it was a good battle.
“As a driver I think we know exactly what we can or cannot do in a car, and we were fighting hard, braking late into the corner, the tyres were quite worn. If I would have turned more abrupt to the left, you’d just spin off the track.”
However, if he does receive a penalty after the FIA consider the new footage, Verstappen isn’t overly concerned - though still expects no action against him.
“It’s not the end of the world [if they penalise me].
“But again I don’t expect that to happen because I thought it was fair, hard racing between the two guys who are fighting for the championship.
“So it wouldn’t have been anyway an easy pass, because that’s not how I am and I don’t think [that’s] how it should be when you’re fighting for the title.”
