Max Verstappen: “If I were him, I would act a little more intelligently. When you are trying to keep your seat, it is not very intelligent behavior”

Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson They engaged in a meaningless fight in the Free practice 2 of the Mexican GP of F1 2026 this Friday that ended with an incomprehensible touch between the two, in a session in which nothing was at stake. And above all, it was surprising because that touch occurred between a Red Bull and one of the cars from the B team of energy drinks, Racing Bulls.

Max Verstappen He was going back and found Lawsonwhich was also attacking. There, the Dutchman wanted to go inside the New Zealander to complete his turn, but in that corner, they almost touched when Liam closed his line to make the turn. Max He raised his hand from the steering wheel in complaint and they both entered the next curve parallel to each other. And Liam, despite seeing that it was the leader of Red Bull, did not get up.

There, Max cut the next curve on the inside, jumped a curb and then there was a collision between them on the track that caused Max to break some part of his car.

The context is important, since this maneuver could be very damaging for Liam, since his future is at stake. Despite his good performance this season (he has 77 points compared to the 38 of his teammate, the ‘rookie’ Lindblad), Lawson is risking his seat with Formula 2 youngster Nikola Tsolov, a Bulgarian talent from the Red Bull academy.

Having angered the leader of the energy drinks structure could go against him. And in that sense, Max Verstappen did not take long to send him a clear warning at the end of the session, in statements to ‘Sky Sports’.

“I don’t think you can call it bad luck. Maybe what (Liam) was trying wasn’t very smart.”said Max, who returned to the fray.

“This isn’t going to change my weekend, but if I were him, I’d act a little smarter. Plus, when you’re trying to keep your seat, it’s not very smart behavior.”said Verstappen, who was 5th with the damaged car in Free Practice 2, aware that he still has more potential in his Red Bull to try to fight for pole this Saturday.