Liam Lawson has openly revealed that he approached Max Verstappen to offer a personal apology following their dramatic collision during the second free practice session at the Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix. The high-profile contact between the former teammates at Turn 14 of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez resulted in significant car damage and forced race control to deploy a red flag, halting the session prematurely.
Following a strict review, the stewards deemed both drivers' behavior unacceptable, handing each of them a one-place grid penalty for Sunday's main race. Fully aware of the mounting pressure and tension, Lawson took the initiative to clear the air ahead of Saturday's track action, emphasizing his commitment to preventing such avoidable errors in the future.
"It is not ideal," Lawson stated when reflecting on the incident. "I went to see Max to apologise because what happened does not need to happen. I do not want to have that happen in the future. Obviously, right now, it is not the best time, so yeah, it has been a tricky day, honestly. But I am happy to drive the car. At the moment, I just like driving the car."
The New Zealander's aggressive approach stems from the intense internal battle for a race seat at Racing Bulls for next season, where he faces fierce rivalry alongside prospects like Nikola Tsolov. Verstappen did not hold back in his assessment of the incident, publicly questioning the timing and wisdom of Lawson's maneuvers while fighting to cement his place on the grid.
"When you are fighting for your seat, it is not very smart behaviour," the Dutchman remarked. Despite the friction, 2009 world champion Jenson Button has stepped up to defend Lawson, arguing that the New Zealander's proven consistency offers the team much-needed reliability compared to unproven rookie alternatives.
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