Montoya believes the FIA are "petty as hell" for punishing Verstappen
F1 News
Juan Pablo Montoya said it himself in an interview with GPblog: Had he been active in F1 now, he would have been shown the door in no time. Similarly to the Colombian, Max Verstappen does not like to soften his tone, as he received a community service penalty for swearing back during the Singapore GP. Montoya does not understand that at all.
Montoya believes the FIA should have handled the Verstappen incident differently. "The FIA overreacted. After what happened in the press conference Max should just have been given a warning. It's petty as hell. And why?" the former Williams and McLaren driver wondered, talking to Gambling Zone.
Montoya praises Verstappen
The former F1 driver understands why as a result, Verstappen decided to answer the journalists' questions with only a few words the following press conferences on the Saturday and Sunday in Asia. The Dutchman also invited the media to join him outside.
"The way he managed it, I think it's classic. At the end of day the F1 at some point is going to tell the FIA to leave him alone because they need him. At some point, the FIA has to go, 'Oh, we screwed up.' But at the same time they have to go, they will feel that they need to stand by their decision as well. So, what do you do? Do you stand by your decision and play the long game? Or do you sit down with him?" the Colombian said.
This article was written in collaboration with Ludo van Denderen
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