Lawson apologises to Verstappen after Mexico FP2 collision

Liam Lawson has apologised to Max Verstappen following their collision in second practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix, admitting the contact "should never happen in practice."

The pair came together in the final sector on Friday as Verstappen tried to pass the Racing Bulls driver while both were starting flying laps. Neither lifted, contact followed, the session was red-flagged and the stewards handed each driver a one-place grid penalty.

Why it matters:

The flashpoint landed on a driver whose Red Bull future remains unresolved beyond the end of the season, and Verstappen did not disguise his view of it. "If I would be him, I would act a little bit smarter," he said on Friday. "Also, when you're fighting for your seat, it's not very smart behaviour." Racing Bulls principal Alan Permane described the exchange between the former teammates as "unnecessary."

The details:

• Lawson went to see Verstappen on Saturday morning to clear the air. "It was never my intention to make contact, and for both of us it's not good," he said after qualifying. "I'll learn from it going forward, and obviously tomorrow is a long race."
• He declined to escalate the matter, pointing to the adrenaline of Verstappen's media commitments. "Ultimately only Max knows how he feels," Lawson added.
• Verstappen aborted his final Q3 lap to protect fourth place and will start fifth once the penalty is applied.
• Lawson reached Q3 and lines up ninth, one spot behind teammate Arvid Lindblad.

What's next:

Both drivers serve their drops in Sunday's race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, where track position is hard to recover once lost. For Lawson, though, the more pressing test sits off-track: with his seat still unconfirmed for next season, every headline carries weight.