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Max Verstappen says he is treated differently from other drivers when it comes to the rules on fair racing.
His comments raise the stakes at the start of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend, where Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton will race to decide this year’s Formula 1 title.
Verstappen said: “It seems other drivers do the same things and only I get a penalty.
“The only thing I ask is that it’s fair for everyone. That’s not the case.”
The Red Bull driver was given three different penalties at last weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix for offences he was deemed to have committed while racing against Hamilton’s Mercedes.
One was for overtaking while off the track, one was for forcing Hamilton off the circuit and one was for braking in front of him and causing a collision.
Hamilton emerged the winner from a dramatic and controversial race to enter the final race of the season at Yas Marina level on points with Verstappen.
Whoever finishes ahead on Sunday will win the title – it would be a record eighth for Hamilton and Verstappen’s first.
Verstappen cited two other incidents in Jeddah in which he said other drivers had done the same thing and not been penalised.
He insisted that in his mind he had not broken any rules with regard to fair racing.
“For me I was not wrong,” Verstappen said. “Only I was ‘wrong’; other people got nothing.
“We were both off the track. Somehow they judged it was my fault, which I don’t agree with, and the other penalty as well I don’t agree with. And then afterwards he pushed me off the track and he even looks at me and pushes me off the track edge and he only gets a warning for that.”
Before the weekend, race director Michael Masi has highlighted in his event notes clauses in F1’s regulations that give governing body the FIA the power to take points off drivers if they transgress.
These refer to “any infringement of the principles of fairness in competition, behaviour in an unsportsmanlike manner or attempt to influence the result of a competition in a way that is contrary to sporting ethics”.
This has been seen as a warning to both drivers not to engage in any dirty driving in their title fight.
Hamilton said this move by the FIA was “fair”, adding: “Hopefully they won’t need to be used and we have a great race.”
Verstappen said: “I know what’s in the sporting code. There has been nothing added for this weekend.”
Verstappen added that he would not change his approach to racing for this weekend, despite being penalised in Jeddah.
“Why should I change when others are allowed to race like that? Everyone should be allowed to race like that,” he said.
Asked if he trusted Verstappen, Hamilton said: “I do believe everyone here racing comes to win. I would like to believe everyone wants to do it the right way. I don’t even let that creep into my mind.”
Hamilton said of the rules over what is permitted in terms of side-by-side battling: “For me it’s quite clear.”
And asked whether he believed Verstappen was “crazy”, as he had said over the team radio in Jeddah, Hamilton said: “Look, when we’re in the races we say all sorts of things because when you’re in the heat of the moment, adrenalin is on the edge. It’s a figure of speech. We racing drivers are all a bit crazy to do the things we do and take the risks we do.”
And he said he was giving no thought to the idea that he could break the record he shares with Michael Schumacher for world titles.
“It just feels like another championship for me,” Hamilton said. “I don’t look at it as a multiple. Every year you start from grounds zero and you are focused on winning. I don’t turn up with (number) one on my car, I turn up with 44, and I don’t consider myself the champion. I consider myself the one fighting for the championship.”
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