Max Verstappen insider reveals deliberate €50,000 fine for Hamilton 2021 incident
Max Verstappen claimed his first title at Lewis Hamilton's expense in 2021
Max Verstappen knew he would receive a €50,000 fine from the FIA for touching the rear wing of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes in parc ferme at the 2021 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Yet he did so anyway in order to apply “pressure” on Red Bull’s rivals at a critical stage in the title fight, Verstappen’s former performance coach Bradley Scanes has claimed.
Max Verstappen ‘knew’ he would get €50,000 fine in Lewis Hamilton title battle
Verstappen secured his first of four consecutive World Championships in 2021 after a bitter fight with Hamilton, then of Mercedes.
Hamilton was denied a record-breaking eighth title at the infamous decider in Abu Dhabi, where he was overtaken by Verstappen on the final lap of the season following the controversial handling of a late Safety Car restart.
The Abu Dhabi race came just weeks after Hamilton enjoyed a run of three consecutive victories, starting in Brazil where he recovered from being disqualified from qualifying – a result of a rear-wing infringement – to win the race.
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After making up 15 places in the sprint race at Interlagos, Hamilton was forced to serve a five-place grid drop ahead of the main event due to a gearbox change.
Starting 10th on race day, the Mercedes driver launched a second recovery drive in the space of 24 hours to pass Verstappen and claim an important win.
Verstappen touched Hamilton’s rear wing in parc ferme after qualifying at Interlagos, with the Red Bull driver handed a €50,000 fine for the offence.
Appearing on the High Performance podcast, Scanes, who served as Verstappen’s performance coach between 2019 and 2023, claimed Verstappen’s offence was a pre-meditated act intended to pile pressure on Mercedes.
Scanes said: “Brazil is a good example [of the mind games] where Max went behind the Mercedes rear wing and was giving it a good feel.
“That was measured: he knew he was going to get a €50k fine and no impact on track.”
Asked if Verstappen had spoken about it before he touched the Mercedes rear wing, he added: “Not [with] me personally, but in the team it was discussed.”
Mercedes clarified after Hamilton’s disqualification that the rear-wing infringement was caused by a broken component.
And Scanes argued that Verstappen’s fine was “helpful” in terms of piling pressure on Mercedes as the 2021 title race reached it crescendo.
He added: “Even if nothing happened, [it would have been worth it].
“I think there was a change. For the last two races, they couldn’t run that particular wing, so that was helpful in its own sense because they absolutely ran away with that Brazil race.
“But even if nothing happened, that would have just shifted the focus, put a little bit of pressure in the media on them.
“Obviously the games between Toto [Wolff] and Christian [Horner] were always clear to see in the media.
“But then backstage, [in the] cooldown rooms between Max and Lewis or even Angela [Cullen, Hamilton’s trainer], [we] would kind of try and have a have a little go as well.”
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Scanes went on to describe the general ill feeling between the Red Bull and Mercedes camps in 2021, revealing the teams would not even look at each other in the paddock.
He said: “2021 is probably the best experience I’ve ever had.
“I had a front-row, first-hand seat watching two greats of the sport go at it.
“And these two were greats of the sport: these two were fighting 20 seconds up the road from everyone else, but there was one second between them the entire time!
“Some of those races you’d think: ‘We’re going to win the Championship.’ And then it’s like: ‘Oh, no. Back against the ropes now.’
“We didn’t win four of the last five. We were struggling and whatever happened happened in Abu Dhabi, but both drivers for sure deserved to win that title that year.
“Obviously, I’m biased and we deserved it more!
“It was a lot of pressure, it was intense. You could cut the tension with a knife in the paddock.
“I remember Brazil, three races from the end, where we were next to each other in the garages, next to each other in the hospitality.
“The way the paddock’s laid out, you’re having to walk past each other; walk past each other’s hospitality as well.
“Nobody would even look at each other, nobody would talk to each other. You could cut the tension with the knife.
“And nowadays, you would stop and talk to your other half from Mercedes or guys you knew there.
“But in those last few races, it was a battle. It was war.”
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