So after all that there was a brake check
Lewis was probably playing a few little games too, but I think there was also a genuine element of confusion given the poor communication and how the races had been stop start with VSC every couple of minutes. Can't really excuses Max's actions either way though, it's just dangerous driving.
He needs reeling in at this point, sadly that's never going to happen with the team he has around him as they're desperate for him to win by any means. He began as an overly aggressive driver at times, but it's leaning more and more towards simply being a dirty driver at this stage, all the while being constantly encouraged and reinforced by the team blowing smoke up his arse as if he can do no wrong. He needs that Nikki Lauda type figure that Mercedes had to really challenge the driver's decision making and call them out on their ego and BS.
There's almost a sense of inevitability with him and Lewis at the moment, I can honestly see this ending up with a double DNF in the last race through some more shocking defending/overtaking and Max taking the championship.
On a side note, what a terrible circuit, it just seemed downright dangerous at times with zero room for error. The second red flag incident shows how bad these street circuits can be, especially one as fast as this. I normally enjoy a good Mazipin joke but I'm glad he's ok, those unsighted/zero reaction time type crashes really aren't fun to watch.