Max Verstappen confronts Esteban Ocon in pit-lane following Brazilian Grand Prix

Max Verstappen shoved Esteban Ocon in the chest three times in an angry confrontation following yesterday’s Brazilian Grand Prix.

Verstappen was furious after Ocon cost him a fine victory, calling the Force India driver a ‘f****** idiot’ for crashing into him. He then pushed and shoved Ocon inside the FIA garage, where the drivers were being weighed.

FIA officials stepped in to stop the fracas escalating before the stewards summoned both men to answer for their actions. They were charged with ‘an act prejudicial to the interests of motor sport’.  

Tensions flared on the weighbridge as Max Verstappen (right) confronts Esteban Ocon

Verstappen was furious with the Force India driver after the two had collided during the race

Verstappen was furious with the Force India driver after the two had collided during the race

Verstappen furiously gesticulates towards Ocon during the heated exchange in the pit-lane

Verstappen furiously gesticulates towards Ocon during the heated exchange in the pit-lane

The Dutchman knocked Ocon off the step as he confronted him – an echo of the sport’s occasionally fiery past, such as Nelson Piquet fighting with Eliseo Salazar in Germany 36 years ago.

Verstappen was later found guilty of ‘deliberate physical contact’ by the stewards and handed a penalty of two days working public service – which could be performing duties for the FIA such as promoting a road safety campaign.

A statement from the stewards read: ‘The driver is required to perform two days of public service at the direction of the FIA within six months of the incident.’

The background to yesterday’s fisticuffs was Verstappen and Ocon’s collision on the 44th lap of the 71-lap grand prix at Interlagos, with Ocon needlessly trying to race Verstappen, the leader, at 220mph. Ocon, running 16th, acted imprudently in not respecting the Dutchman’s status in the race.

They came together at the Senna Esses and Verstappen spun off, ceding first place to Lewis Hamilton, who went on to win his 10th race of the season – a perfect celebration of the fifth world title he won in Mexico a fortnight ago. 

Verstappen finished second. Over the radio, he called Ocon an idiot in the immediate heat of battle. At the end of the race, his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, known as GP, said: ‘I don’t know what to say.’ To which Verstappen replied: ‘I know what to say. I hope I don’t come across him the paddock.’ The rest of the exchange was broadcast as a long bleep to mask Verstappen’s expletives. 

The Dutchman pushed the Force India a couple of times as Valtteri Bottas looks on

The Dutchman pushed the Force India a couple of times as Valtteri Bottas looks on

Verstappen then walked away from the confrontation as Ocon is told not to follow him

Verstappen then walked away from the confrontation as Ocon is told not to follow him

The Red Bull driver later said he did not regret the confrontation having been robbed of victory

The Red Bull driver later said he did not regret the confrontation having been robbed of victory

But he did see Ocon almost the moment he got out of the car and took the incident up with the 6ft 3in Frenchman, and the shoving started.

Verstappen’s team principal Christian Horner backed his man, saying: ‘He was lucky to get away with just a push.’

Verstappen said: ‘He has the right to unlap himself, but you have to be careful. He has always been an idiot.’

Ocon was unrepentant, saying: ‘Max is a lunatic.

The incident came as Ocon tried to unlap himself into turn two at Interlagos

The incident came as Ocon tried to unlap himself into turn two at Interlagos

But the driver drove straight into Verstappen who had been comfortably leading the race

But the driver drove straight into Verstappen who had been comfortably leading the race

Both drivers were put into a spin, with Ocon picking up a 10-second stop/go penalty as a result

Both drivers were put into a spin, with Ocon picking up a 10-second stop/go penalty as a result

‘I was on new tyres. So I was very, very fast. The team told me to try to unlap myself. There is no rule saying you are not allowed to do that. Clearly I had the pace to do that, so I went round Max, which I did on Fernando Alonso and many other drivers this weekend. With Max it did not work out. 

‘That’s one thing. But what is worse is Max’s behaviour afterwards – being violent, pushing me, wanting to punch me. The FIA had to stop him. That is not a professional way of handling things.

‘I would do the same again.’

As for Verstappen’s pre-collision race, he was chasing his second successive victory having won in Mexico. He was bursting with elan throughout the afternoon, carving his way up the field from fifth on the grid. He had a fast Red Bull but put it to emphatically good use by going past Kimi Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel and Valtteri Bottas early on. 

Ocon makes his way towards the pit garages following his 15th place finish at the Brazilian GP

Ocon makes his way towards the pit garages following his 15th place finish at the Brazilian GP

After pitting, he came out behind Hamilton but overtook the champion easily enough down the straight for the lead.

Then, the collision with Ocon. Should Verstappen have taken more care? Perhaps, and some might say he got a taste of his own strong medicine. But, fundamentally, he was entitled to greater circumspection from a driver so far down the field.

Verstappen was now five seconds down on Hamilton and nursing a bruised car. He still managed to finish ahead of Ferrari’s Raikkonen, who was third.

The stewards looked into the on-track flare-up and gave Ocon a severe punishment – a 10-second stop-go penalty, only one level down from putting out the scaffolding by waving a black flag at him.

Verstappen sportingly congratulates Hamilton on his win before going to search for Ocon

Verstappen sportingly congratulates Hamilton on his win before going to search for Ocon

Ocon, 22, is on Mercedes’ books, part of their young driver programme. A conspiracy theorist might suggest he was helping a fellow Mercedes man, Hamilton, and acted deliberately. Well, that can probably be filed alongside the grassy knoll baloney. I put it down to simple idiocy.

Hamilton’s previous championship victory turned Sunday’s race into a dead rubber of sorts – certainly the weekend had a certain after-the- Lord-Mayor’s-Show feel about it – though there was the business of the constructors’ title to wrap up. Mercedes did that with Hamilton’s triumph and team-mate Valtteri Bottas in fifth.

Five times in as many years, Mercedes have handed out bonuses that come with the team title to their Northamptonshire-based team. New kitchens all round at Brackley!

As for Hamilton, it was his 50th win in 99 starts, and he was emotional afterwards, sinking to his knees, letting the joy of his fifth title consume him two weeks after the fact.

A dejected Verstappen stands on  the podium alongside Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen in P3

A dejected Verstappen stands on the podium alongside Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen in P3

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