P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Leclerc: Verstappen should have been asked to give back lead in F1 Las Vegas GP
On a slippery circuit, Max Verstappen made a mistake in Turn 1 and forced Charles Leclerc off the track. The incident was investigated by the stewards, but instead of giving back the position to Leclerc, Red Bull chose to take a five-second penalty. Verstappen tried to build a gap in the first stint to offset the penalty, but Leclerc fought back and regained the lead. This incident has raised questions about the practice of canceling out penalties by gaining track position. Leclerc believed that Verstappen deserved the penalty, but thought it would have been fairer for him to give up the position. Verstappen initially disagreed with the penalty, but later admitted it was justified. Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner, felt the penalty was marginal and that’s why they didn’t ask Verstappen to give up the position.
