F1 News: Raikkonen Agrees With Verstappen, Dutch Driver Unhappy With 5-Second Penalty

Max Verstappen was incensed with the race stewards’ decision to hand him a five-second penalty for colliding with Kimi Raikkonen on the opening lap of the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday. The Dutchman is certain it was the wrong decision.

Verstappen and the Ferrari driver collided after the Red Bull Racing driver locked up leading up to the final chicane, ran wide and rejoined the track only to make contact with the Ferrari driver.

Raikkonen suffered damage to his car that compromised his race, but Verstappen continued in third place. After investigation by the race stewards, it was decided the Red Bull Racing driver will serve a five-second penalty during his first pit stop.

“The first one I totally don't agree with," Verstappen said after the race, according to F1i.com. "I locked up and I could easily have cut the track, I made my best effort to get back on track. And he chose to go around the outside, he could have waited for me to understeer wide.”

"So I don't know why I got a penalty. It is a bit stupid,” he added. "If I get a 5-second penalty for that, then next time I'll just cut the track.”

The incident and the eventual penalty did not harm his race much as Verstappen went on to finish on the podium behind the two Mercedes cars of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.

But race director Charlie Whiting responded to the Dutch driver’s comments and made it clear the stewards were right in awarding him a five-second penalty for returning to track in an unsafe manner.

"It was quite clearly a penalty because Max went off the track and rejoined the track unsafely," Whiting told Motorsport.com after the race. "You are required to rejoin safely and Kimi was there and pushed him off the track. So I think that was a fairly straightforward one for the stewards."

Raikkonen, meanwhile, despite being the loser in the whole collision incident seemed to agree with Verstappen’s assessment. The Finn agrees that he could have been a bit slower and waited for the Red Bull driver to join the track before making a move.

The Ferrari driver eventually finished fifth behind the two Mercedes’ and the Red Bull’s, but was certain Verstappen did not cause the collision on purpose and even seemed to sympathize the Dutchman.

"In an ideal world I could have left a bit more [space],” Raikkonen said, according to Planet F1. “I tried to go outside and leave him as much room as possible.”

“I know that sometime when you come back over the kerbs it’s impossible to turn the car after you bounce over it and I don’t know if that was the case. I don’t think he purposely tried to hit anybody,” he added. “If we both would be on the circuit next to each other he wouldn’t squeeze me because we all know what would happen.”