Formula One: Max Verstappen was robbed…flat-out robbed

Max Verstappen crossed the finish line of the United States Grand Prix in 3rd place after starting back in 16th. But he ended up with a 4th place result after the Formula One stewards robbed him.

Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen qualified in 6th place for the 17th of 20 Formula One races of the season, the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

However, he received a 15-place grid penalty for exceeding his engine allowance before ultimately starting in 16th after the penalty only knocked him back 10 positions.

Verstappen worked his way up through the field and was in 4th place with just one lap to go in the 56-lap race, an awesome position for him after he started the race back in 16th.

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However, he was not willing to settle for 4th and made a bold move to pass Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen late in the final lap before crossing the finish line in 3rd place behind race winner Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.

Verstappen thought he had secured his fourth podium finish of the season and third in a row, but the pass was reviewed and ultimately deemed illegal by the Formula One stewards and he was given a five-second time penalty because of it, thus pushing him to 4th place behind Raikkonen, who ended up officially finishing in 3rd.

Here is a video of the pass that led to this controversial call.

Three-time Formula One champion and Mercedes Formula One chairman Niki Lauda referred to the decision to penalize Verstappen for his pass on Raikkonen the “worst he has ever seen”.

"“This decision is the worst I’ve ever seen, he did nothing wrong. We’re racing drivers, we’re not on a normal road, it’s ridiculous to destroy the sport with this kind of decision. Next strategy meeting we need to bring it up to the agenda and start it all over again, because we cannot do that, it’s going too far. There was nothing to interfere with, it was a normal overtaking.”“Charlie [Whiting, F1 race director] argues all the time there’s white lines and you cannot drive over them. Why cannot you drive over white lines if it is possible? Build a wall there if you want. As long as there is normal circuit, you can use it. A white line is not a limit. We agreed this all, last year it was all agreed. And now we get this decision. I think it’s completely wrong.”“We got the stewards in to tell us how fast stewards could go during a race. Because it always says ‘under investigation.’ So we complained about that. We agreed all together that unless it is dangerous, the stewards would not interfere. Very simple. If they drive over [each other] and go upside down, only then they will come in.”"

Racing legend Mario Andretti, who has an Indianapolis 500 win, a Daytona 500 win, a Formula One championship and four IndyCar championships to his name, also weighed in on the controversy via Twitter.

After watching videos could equally argue Kimi forced him there. Best overtake of #USGP. Feel sorry for @Max33Verstappen you got robbed @F1
— Mario Andretti (@MarioAndretti) October 22, 2017

Here is what Max Verstappen himself had to say about the stewards’ decision to penalize him via Twitter.

https://twitter.com/Max33Verstappen/status/922231563030618113

Everything that Lauda, Andretti and Verstappen himself said about the pass is pinpoint accurate. The decision to penalize Verstappen for battling hard and stealing a podium spot away from Kimi Raikkonen on the final lap of the United States Grand Prix in exciting fashion was absolutely ridiculous, as he truly did not do anything wrong by taking that spot. Simply put, he was robbed; flat-out robbed.

Next: Looking back at Lewis Hamilton's record-setting accomplishment

Will Max Verstappen continue his hot streak in next week’s Formula One race, the 18th of 20 races this season? Find out by tuning into NBC at 3:00 PM ET next Sunday, October 29th, 2017 for the Mexican Grand Prix at at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico.