Verstappen: F1 drivers should stay at home if that's a penalty

Austrian Grand Prix winner Max Verstappen says Formula 1 drivers might as well “stay at home” if his incident with Charles Leclerc is punished.

Verstappen dived up the inside of Leclerc at Turn 3 with three laps to go as the pair made light contact at the apex of the corner, leading to Ferrari driver Leclerc being pushed wide and off the track.

The Dutchman took the lead which he held onto for the final laps to claim Red Bull’s first victory since joining forces with Honda.

“It’s hard racing otherwise we have to stay at home,” Verstappen said.

“If those things are not allowed in racing, what is the point of being in F1?

“After that start I thought the race was over, but we just kept pushing hard,” he added.

“The pace was actually not too bad, got a big flatspot on my first tyre. After the pitstop, we were flying, you could see on the straight we had good pace as well.

“So we could make a pass, of course extremely happy for the whole team, and also for Honda, we just started working together this year. To win here is incredible."

The incident was instantly put under investigation, with both drivers summoned to appear before the Spielberg stewards following the conclusion of the race.

Speaking about the clash, Leclerc said: “On the incident I’ll let the stewards decide but for me, it was pretty clear in the car - I don’t know how it looked like from the outside.

“I was on the outside, like the lap before, the lap before was completely fine.

“He left the space for a car width on the exit of the corner but he didn’t on the other lap so we touched and I had to go wide, and then obviously I didn’t have any chance to pass back so it’s a shame.”