Verstappen: Lawson scrap 'not very smart' given his uncertain future

Max Verstappen has labelled Liam Lawson's defending in FP2 at the Mexico City Grand Prix as "not very smart behaviour," pointedly noting the Racing Bulls driver is in no position to pick a fight with a four-time world champion.

The pair made contact through the twisty stadium complex at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, damaging both cars and bringing out a red flag as debris scattered across the track.

Why it matters:

Lawson's future is already under scrutiny. The 24-year-old sits ninth in the drivers' standings as best of the rest and has dragged the Faenza squad to the brink of fifth in the constructors' championship, yet he is reportedly at risk of losing his seat to Red Bull junior and F2 driver Nikola Tsolov. The paddock consensus is that he has done more than enough to stay — but picking a scrap with Verstappen does little for his cause.

The details:

• Verstappen was on a quick out-lap to recover from an early issue when he caught Lawson running slowly. "As soon as he saw me arrive, he started to speed up," he said. "I don't know what was going through his head... trying to just run me off the track."
• The contact broke Verstappen's bargeboard, costing him downforce for the rest of the hour. He still finished the session fifth, with Lawson ninth.
• Both drivers were summoned to the stewards over the incident.

What's next:

The stewards' verdict will land before qualifying, and any penalty would compound a scrappy weekend for Racing Bulls. More broadly, the flashpoint sharpens a call Red Bull has to make sooner rather than later: whether Lawson's raw pace is worth the noise that now follows him.