Duel in the family A controversy is mounting on social media and in some media regarding Max Verstappen and his duel with Liam Lawson which took place in the very first laps of the Miami GP on Sunday, immediately after the sensational spin that made him slip from first position to the rear. First the facts: after the 360 and losing positions, Verstappen found himself in battle with Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls for eighth and ninth position. The Dutchman, who proved to be particularly aggressive in overtaking especially in the first part of the American race, attacked Lawson inside turn 11, taking both cars off the track, well beyond the track limits. It should be underlined that Verstappen’s car was never completely side by side with that of his rival. This is an important point, because the now ‘famous’ overtaking guidelines state that a driver in Verstappen’s position, who then attempts to overtake on the inside, must “have the front axle at least aligned with the mirror of the other car before the apex and at the apex” and “drive in a fully controlled manner, particularly from the entry to the apex, without ‘diving'”. The #30, despite being ‘pushed’ out, did not lift his foot and maintained his position ahead of the four-time world champion by rejoining the track. Max Verstappen chasing Liam Lawson and then climbing the same track, with four turns and incredibly, this episode didn’t require any further investigation. We can’t help but decide that we know that the one who had the same name was another … pic.twitter.com/UxvwbFzmPo— Lanwson Hoffman ¹ ³⁰ (@JharedLN130) May 4, 2026 Excess of zeal in Racing Bulls Immediately, as almost always happens in these cases, radio recriminations began between the two contenders: Verstappen defined Lawson as an “idiot” while Lawson reported to the wall that he didn’t understand “what Max wanted to do there”. During the second lap, however, to Lawson’s great surprise, it was his track engineer who suggested that he let Verstappen slip past, as happens when you overtake off the track and want to avoid a possible penalty from the stewards by immediately giving up the position. “Liam, we have to give the position back to Max – Lawson was asked via radio – we have to give the position to Max. He is 1.3 seconds behind. Behind him, Albon at 1.3 seconds. Do it as soon as possible.” The Racing Bulls driver complained – “He came at me, I don’t understand” – but finally complied, giving way to Verstappen. Verstappen’s ‘aggressive’ maneuver in Turn 11 was not investigated by the stewards – and this may be understandable, given that it was the first lap and that in the end the Dutchman had not benefited from the maneuver – but Lawson certainly should not have let the Red Bull #3 pass given that he had not made any irregularities in the defense. Inevitably, given the fact that the two drivers involved in the episode belong to the two ‘sister’ teams of the grid – Red Bull and Racing Bulls – suspicions immediately began about the Faenza team’s desire to favor the comeback of the Dutchman from the ‘parent company’. This episode certainly increases the already numerous controversies that are emerging in the paddock on the delicate topic of timeshare in Formula 1 and on the ‘B teams’.
Automobile Magazine – F1 English News
2026-05-05 17:27:00
