# Verstappen calls Lawson behaviour not very smart after Mexico practice collision _Max Verstappen criticised Liam Lawson following a collision during second practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix._ - Publisher: Apex Sports News (https://apexsportsnews.in) - Canonical URL: https://apexsportsnews.in/news/verstappen-calls-lawson-behaviour-not-very-smart-after-mexico-practice-collision - Author: Sapna Pandey, Sports writer (https://apexsportsnews.in/author/sapna-pandey) - Published: 2026-10-31T01:52:41.672Z - Section: Formula 1 - Topics: Max Verstappen, Formula 1, Mexico City Grand Prix, Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls ## Summary Max Verstappen accused Liam Lawson of not very smart behaviour after their cars collided in Friday practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc led McLaren’s Lando Norris in the times, while Kimi Antonelli was fourth fastest. ## Key takeaways - Verstappen and Lawson collided during second practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix. - Verstappen said Lawson tried to drive him off the track at the hairpin. - Lawson is competing for one of two Racing Bulls seats next year. - Leclerc headed Norris in the practice times. - Antonelli was fourth fastest behind Russell. ## Article Max Verstappen accused Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson of "not very smart behaviour" after the two collided in Friday practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix. The four-time champion made the comments following an incident in the stadium section of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. ## The incident Verstappen said Lawson had tried to "drive me off the track at the hairpin" during the second session. The two cars hit each other side on after running through three corners side by side towards the end of the lap. "Maybe not very smart behaviour what he was trying to do there," said Verstappen. " The Dutchman added: "When he saw me coming, he suddenly started to accelerate. I don't know what was going through his head, that he wanted to drive me off the track in the hairpin. " ## Seat battle context Lawson is one of three drivers competing for two seats at Racing Bulls, Red Bull's junior team, next year, alongside current team-mate Arvid Lindblad and Bulgarian Formula 2 front-runner Nikola Tsolov. Lawson was Verstappen's team-mate for two races at the start of 2025 before being dropped back down to the Racing Bulls junior team after disappointing performances. He had a second spell alongside Verstappen for three races this year as a substitute for regular driver Isack Hadjar after the Frenchman broke his wrist. Lawson acquitted himself more effectively during his second stint in the senior team. ## Team and stewards response Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane said: "One word - unnecessary. And I say that for both of them. I haven't heard what Max has said. I'm sure he's got his opinions and I'm sure Liam has his opinion. " The pair were called to the stewards following the incident but no significant penalty is expected for either as it was only in practice, when drivers are rarely punished for such incidents. ## Practice times and title race Ferrari's Charles Leclerc headed McLaren's Lando Norris in the times. Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli was fourth fastest behind team-mate George Russell. ## Mexico City background The Mexico City Grand Prix is held at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. The 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix was the twentieth round of the 2025 Formula One World Championship. McLaren driver Lando Norris converted pole position into a win, giving his team their first victory in Mexico since 1989. Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen rounded out the podium. The 2021 Mexico City Grand Prix was the 18th round of the 2021 Formula One World Championship and marked the 21st edition of the Mexican Grand Prix, which was run under the name Mexico City Grand Prix for the first time. ## What happens next The Mexico City Grand Prix race is scheduled for Sunday. ### Related on Apex Sports News - [Nikola Tsolov replaces Liam Lawson at Racing Bulls for Mexico FP1](https://apexsportsnews.in/news/nikola-tsolov-replaces-liam-lawson-at-racing-bulls-for-mexico-fp1) - [Kimi Antonelli F1 Mexico 2026 title chances explained](https://apexsportsnews.in/news/kimi-antonelli-f1-mexico-2026-title-chances-explained) - [How to stream the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix on F1 TV Premium](https://apexsportsnews.in/news/how-to-stream-the-2026-mexico-city-grand-prix-on-f1-tv-premium) ### Sources - [BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/articles/cqde8p6j9ye7o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss) - [Wikipedia: 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix (background)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Mexico_City_Grand_Prix) - [Photo: Yu Chu Chin, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Liam_Lawson_at_the_Red_Bull_Fan_Zone_%E2%80%93_Crown_Riverwalk,_Melbourne_(028A7795).jpg) --- Source: Apex Sports News, https://apexsportsnews.in/news/verstappen-calls-lawson-behaviour-not-very-smart-after-mexico-practice-collision. 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