Max Verstappen’s team radio that wasn’t aired during the Liam Lawson incident shows what actually went on.
Unaired team radio from Max Verstappen’s crash with Liam Lawson during practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix reveals what really happened.
Both Verstappen and Lawson got a one-place grid penalty for the incident that took place during the second free practice session on Friday.
Verstappen, driving for Red Bull, tried to pass Lawson from Racing Bulls at turns 12 and 13. But Lawson forced him off the track. Verstappen came back onto the track over a bump at turn 14 and then they touched.
Team radio recordings show Lawson’s engineer, Alexandre Iliopoulos, warned him Verstappen was coming up behind on an out-lap. Lawson said he wasn’t pushing and noted Carlos Sainz ahead had aborted a move. Meanwhile, Verstappen’s engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, told Max to try and get ahead of Lawson.
Iliopoulos later told Lawson that Sainz had a big gap ahead, and Verstappen was coming a few seconds behind to try and overtake.
During the session, Lawson was unhappy and said Verstappen “literally drove into me.” He added, “If I back out every time, what am I supposed to do? He actually went off track into my side.”
Lawson doesn’t yet have a race seat for 2027. There’s a chance Red Bull junior driver Nikola Tsolov could take that spot. Because every race in these final rounds matters, Verstappen questioned Lawson’s actions and called them “not very smart.”
“Honestly, it won’t change my weekend,” Verstappen said. “But if I were him, I’d be a bit smarter. When you’re fighting for your seat, this isn’t smart. When he saw me coming, he suddenly sped up. I don’t know what he was thinking, trying to push me off the track in the hairpin. That’s just not smart from someone in his position.”
Besides the one-place grid penalty, the FIA also gave both drivers one penalty point on their Super Licences, which will stay for 12 months.
The FIA stewards said, “At turn 12, Car 3 was on a preparation lap and Car 30 was cooling down for another push. Both drivers acted in a way the stewards found unacceptable, especially since they had been warned earlier that day.
“Both drivers admitted their moves were unnecessary and clumsy.”