F1 Champ Max Verstappen paid whopping $52,775 fine in 2021 for curious contact with Mercedes rear wing

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton’s “cold war” started with Verstappen entering the industry and replacing the seven-time World Champion in a short period of time, making the rivalry between them unlike any other.

Both drivers are aware of each other’s presence and are in constant battle to defeat each other at the show, which makes the race more thrilling for the audience. Both of them were once again involved in a discussion by the stewards at the US Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen paid fine for touching Lewis Hamilton’s car

Back in 2021, Verstappen was caught inspecting the rear wing of the Mercedes by the stewards. They claimed that it triggered a violation of the International Sporting Code (ISC). Touching the cars while they are in parc fermé conditions is restricted solely to track officials and FIA members. This measure is in place to prevent drivers or team members from altering the car’s condition. The Dutch driver was fined $52,775 for breaking the rules.

When asked about the situation, he replied: “It’s quite a big fine, so I hope they have a nice dinner and a lot of wine — I hope good, expensive wine, that would be nice.” 

It was evident that he recalled upon an incident where he “paid for dinner” to the FIA with the fine he paid. He continued to joke about this: “They can invite me for dinner as well, I will pay for that dinner too.”

The drag reduction system was later found at the rear wing of the Mercedes as the FIA inspected it, shortly after Verstappen was seen observing the car. This resulted in Hamilton being disqualified from Friday’s race.

The stewards called both of them together and cleared up the misunderstanding that Verstappen’s actions did not help them disqualify Hamilton at all and that it was all a coincidence.

When questioned about what he was inspecting by looking at the rear wing, Verstappen said, “Well I was looking at the wing!

 “So, yeah, you can see on the video what I did exactly. I was just looking at how much the rear wing was flexing at that point …

“Of course, there are still things to look into because, at a certain speed, it seems like the wing is flexing [down] and, of course, at the beginning of the season we all had to change the rear wing a bit because of the back off [of the wing under aerodynamic load].

“But it seems like something is still backing off over there. So that’s why I went and had a look.”

“It had nothing to do with the DRS or what they [the stewards] were looking at.”

Hamilton’s quest for eighth championship derailed by Verstappen in 2021

It was crystal clear that Hamilton was having a dominant rule in the F1 Industry without any definite competition until Verstappen stepped in. At the start of the 2023 season, the Dutchman began a dominant era of his own with his upgraded RB19.

An ex-F1 driver also warned “Mad Max” that he always cannot keep winning.

Max Verstappen has ultimately halted the eighth quest of the British driver by grabbing all of the championship wins by himself. Hamilton has targeted Verstappen since then, trying his best to make sure Verstappen faces many challenges at every race.

Do you think the duo will be on better terms in the future? Let us know in the comment section below!