Both drivers hit with grid drops after clumsy FP2 contact.
Max Verstappen has sharply criticised Liam Lawson’s racecraft after the two former teammates collided during Friday’s second practice session at the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix. Speaking in the paddock before the FIA stewards delivered their verdict, the Red Bull driver labelled Lawson’s defensive driving “not very smart behaviour” and pointedly referenced the New Zealander’s unconfirmed future with Racing Bulls for the 2027 Formula 1 season.
The bizarre wheel-to-wheel contact inside the Foro Sol stadium section scattered carbon fibre debris across the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, triggered a brief red flag, and left both cars with visible bodywork damage. Following a post-session investigation, the FIA stewards took the rare step of handing both Verstappen and Lawson a one-place grid drop for Sunday’s Grand Prix alongside one penalty point each on their superlicences. With qualifying set for Saturday afternoon, the flashpoint has injected immediate needle into a critical weekend for the Red Bull driver pool.
What Verstappen and Lawson Said After the Clash
Addressing reporters in the immediate aftermath of Free Practice 2, Verstappen dismissed suggestions that the coming-together was merely a case of bad luck or traffic miscommunication in the tight final sector.
“I don’t think it’s called unlucky,” Verstappen said. “Maybe not very smart behaviour, what he was trying to do there.” While the four-time world champion insisted the incident would not derail Red Bull’s overall weekend programme, he delivered a pointed warning regarding Lawson’s precarious contract status. “At the end of the day it’s not going to change my weekend, but if I were him I would act a little bit smarter. Also, when you’re fighting for your seat, it’s not very smart behaviour.”
From the cockpit of his RB22, Verstappen felt the Racing Bulls driver deliberately contested the corner after spotting him in his mirrors. Having lost track time to minor setup niggles earlier in the session, Verstappen explained that he was pushing hard on an out-lap to build tyre temperature when Lawson suddenly accelerated to defend his track position.
Lawson, however, saw the incident entirely differently over team radio immediately after the impact. “He just drove into me, man,” the 24-year-old told his race engineer. “He literally just drove into me. Every weekend he plays this game. Check the side of my car”. Racing Bulls immediately called Lawson to stop in front of the garage to inspect his front wing and floor assembly before sending him back out later in the hour.
How the Turn 12–14 Collision Unfolded
Track time in FP2 carried extra urgency for both garages after 10 rookie drivers took part in Friday’s opening practice session. Both Verstappen and Lawson had vacated their cockpits for FP1—with Ayumu Iwasa driving Verstappen’s Red Bull and Bulgarian Formula 2 prospect Nikola Tsolov making his FP1 debut in Lawson’s Racing Bulls machine—leaving the regulars with just 60 minutes in the afternoon to dial in their high-altitude setups.
The flashpoint arrived early in the session as traffic bunched up behind the Williams of Carlos Sainz approaching the stadium complex. Verstappen was pushing on a preparation lap to bring his tyres into the operating window, while Lawson was coming off a cool-down lap preparing to launch another flying effort.
Verstappen lunged down the inside into the right-hander at Turn 12, but neither driver was willing to yield. Lawson hung onto the outside line through Turn 12, which naturally handed him the inside line for the subsequent Turn 13 left-hand switchback. Running side-by-side into Turn 13, Lawson squeezed Verstappen wide, prompting the Dutchman to bounce across the Turn 14 kerb. As Verstappen rejoined the racing line alongside the Racing Bulls car, the two banged wheels and bodywork, damaging the left-hand side of Verstappen’s floor and breaking elements of Lawson’s front wing. Race control briefly red-flagged the session so marshals could sweep carbon debris off the racing line, though both mechanics’ crews repaired the cars in time for the closing runs.
Why FIA Stewards Escalated to a Grid Penalty
Practice collisions rarely result in Sunday grid drops, making the stewards’ post-session ruling one of the most talked-about talking points in the Mexico City paddock. After reviewing onboard telemetry, video evidence, and interviewing both drivers alongside team representatives, the officials deemed both men equally culpable and described the contact as “unacceptable”.
Crucially, the FIA decision document revealed why a standard reprimand or formal warning was bypassed. Race Director officials had explicitly warned teams during Friday morning’s Team Managers’ meeting about impeding and aggressive out-lap behaviour following a string of similar practice flashpoints earlier in the 2026 campaign. Because that directive was fresh, the stewards escalated the sanction to a mandatory one-place grid penalty and one superlicence penalty point apiece.
Behind closed doors in the stewards’ room, the tone was far calmer than on the broadcast. Both Verstappen and Lawson mutually acknowledged to the panel that their wheel-to-wheel battle in practice was “clumsy” and unnecessary.
Racing Bulls Defend Lawson Amid 2027 Seat Pressure
While Verstappen’s remarks carried the subtext that a junior-team driver should not complicate life for Red Bull’s lead contender, Racing Bulls Team Principal Alan Permane refused to place the blame solely on his driver. Permane labelled the contact “unnecessary” from both cockpits and pushed back against the narrative that Lawson was intentionally picking a fight with Verstappen.
“When you’re doing an out-lap or a cool-down lap here, one thing that’s really important is to do the last sector fast because doing that gives you tyres for Turn 1,” Permane explained, noting that cold front brakes and tyres easily lead to lock-ups at the end of Mexico’s 1.2-kilometre main straight. “They were both going for that. When Verstappen’s remarks were put to me—that’s not the case. I don’t think anyone’s picking a fight with anyone. In the cold light of day, they’ll be calm and think we could have both done better”.
Even so, Verstappen’s comment about Lawson “fighting for his seat” struck a nerve because of the unresolved 2027 driver market inside the Red Bull camp. Lawson’s current deal expires at the end of 2026, and Faenza management has yet to officially confirm either Lawson or rookie teammate Arvid Lindblad for next year. Pressure mounted further during Friday’s FP1 session when rookie replacement Nikola Tsolov lapped within roughly a tenth of a second of Lindblad’s benchmark, positioning the Bulgarian as a genuine third contender for a 2027 Racing Bulls drive.
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The incident also adds another chapter to a prickly on-track history between the pair. After Lawson briefly served as Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate for two rounds in early 2025, the duo previously tangled at the 2026 Miami Grand Prix, where Lawson complained over radio that Verstappen had driven into his sidepod before team orders instructed them to swap positions.
Where Both Drivers Stand Heading Into Qualifying
Despite the floor damage sustained over the Turn 14 kerbs, Verstappen salvaged a competitive fifth place on the FP2 timesheets with a best lap of 1m 18.138s—just 0.311 seconds adrift of session leader Charles Leclerc, who topped Friday for Ferrari with a 1m 17.827s ahead of Lando Norris, George Russell, and championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Lawson ended the afternoon ninth fastest on a 1m 18.455s, trailing Leclerc by 0.628 seconds and finishing two spots behind teammate Lindblad in seventh (while Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar slotted into sixth). Friday’s second session also brought drama for Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who lost power exiting Turn 13 after setting a 1m 18.741s on medium tyres, triggering a Virtual Safety Car that cost the seven-time champion half an hour of track time.
With both Verstappen and Lawson guaranteed to drop one grid spot from wherever they qualify on Saturday afternoon, starting track position will be critical. At the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, dropping a single grid slot shifts a driver from the clean racing line onto the dusty offline side of the track for the 800-metre drag race down to Turn 1—turning a minor Friday practice squabble into a genuine Sunday afternoon headache.