RED BULL advisor Helmut Marko has claimed his team are treated differently to Mercedes by FIA stewards following Lewis Hamilton’s win at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The 36-year-old won his third race in a row to move level on points with his Dutch rival going into Sunday’s final GP of 2021 in Abu Dhabi.
In a chaotic race in Saudi Arabia, Verstappen was twice told by stewards to give the lead back to the British icon after running Hamilton deep twice at Turn One.
And the 24-year-old was also slapped with a ten-second penalty following the race after braking into Hamilton on lap 37.
The incident led Hamilton to brand Verstappen as ‘f****** crazy’ on Mercedes’ team radio.
Verstappen was even given a five-second penalty during the GP for leaving the track earlier in the race.
Marko has expressed his frustration that Hamilton was more than ten car lengths behind Verstappen en route to the grid at the first red flag restart.
The 78-year-old is also of the opinion that the seven-time F1 World Champion forced Verstappen wide at the final corner after he allowed him to re-take the lead.
Speaking before Verstappen’s ten-second penalty, Marko stated that he ‘did not accept the decisions’.
He told Autosport: “Our engineers are preparing that we can prove Max was constant with his braking, he didn’t brake test like Hamilton said.
“Then he crashed into our car, he unfortunately put two cuts in the rear tyre. That was so severe that we couldn’t attack anymore. We had to take speed out.
“That was the one thing. The next thing was at the second start, Hamilton was more than ten [car] lengths behind.
“[Sebastian] Vettel got penalised in Budapest when he did it. But with this manoeuvre he [Hamilton] was preparing his tyre better for the start.
“Then he pushed Max off, no reaction. So we feel we are not treated the same.”
Verstappen was left furious following the race, as he stormed off the podium having seen Hamilton draw level with him in the championship.
Hamilton suggested that Verstappen drives over the limit after he narrowly avoided disaster in Jeddah.
He remarked: “For me I really had to try and keep my cool out there which was really difficult to do.
“I have raced a lot of drivers through my life in 28 years and I have come across a lot of different characters.
There’s a few at the top which are over the limit, rules don’t apply or don’t think of the rules.
“I just try to do my talking on the track and keep the car between the white lines and do it the right way.
“There were so many crazy curb walls and then he obviously brake tested I think to try and get the DRS into the last corner to overtake me again going into turn one.
“Does Max fall into that category…He is over the limit for sure. I have avoided collisions on so many occasions with the guy and I don’t know in his mind being the one who does that. But you fight to live another day which I did.”
