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Charles Leclerc called opponent Max Verstappen's actions "stupid" for not lifting during the double-waved yellow flag period in the dying stages of the Mexican Grand Prix. Carlos Sainz had parked his Williams up in the stadium section of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, causing the marshal to bring out the double-waved yellows in the part of the track.
Verstappen was right on the tail of Charles Leclerc in the last few laps of the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday, with the Dutch racer trying to overtake the Ferrari driver to secure P2 in the race. As he closed to within two seconds of Leclerc, double-waved yellow flags came out in the stadium section, thanks to Carlos Sainz parking his Williams up partially behind the barriers following a crash.
Max Verstappen still gained on Leclerc through this part, leading Leclerc to think that the four-times champion did not lift off the throttle. The Monegasque immediately came over the radio to address situation, as he said:
"Max, haha, that's stupid. That's a penalty if he overtakes for sure."
What does the yellow flag mean?
A double-waved yellow flag means that racers must decrease their pace significantly, exercise extreme caution on track and even be ready to stop if required. From Verstappen's onboards, it can be seen that he reduces the pae after seeing the flags, but only as he approaches the slow turn 13 in the stadium section.
Verstappen once again increases the pace after passing Turn 15, where the track is green again. So, it is not clear to deduce from the onboards if the racer infringed in the moment.
At the time of writing, Verstappen is not under investigation for the incident and no team has filed a complaint about this moment to the FIA.
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