Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz under investigation after Hamilton crash
The FIA has launched a stewards' investigation
Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz are under investigation by the FIA stewards following an incident in the aftermath of Lewis Hamilton’s crash in FP3 at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Hamilton’s Ferrari crashed on the exit of the Fagnes chicane in the closing minutes of the final practice session at Spa.
Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz under FIA investigation at Belgian Grand Prix
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The incident was almost identical to Pierre Gasly’s accident at the same corner in Friday’s FP2 session in Belgium.
Hamilton’s accident led to yellow flags being waved, with Verstappen slowing his pace on the approach to the first part of the Fagnes chicane.
Travelling behind, Sainz appeared to be caught out by the yellow flags and locked up heavily behind the Red Bull.
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Sainz was heard trying to pin the blame on Verstappen, with the Red Bull driver questioning the Williams man’s role in the incident.
Sainz said: “The car in front braked quite sudden.”
Verstappen said: “What the f**k? My God! It’s like double yellows and this car, it almost crashes in the back of me. Unbelievable.”
Verstappen and Sainz, along with team representatives of Red Bull and Williams, are required to report to the stewards at 14:25 in Belgium over an alleged failure to slow for double yellow flags.
The rear-right corner of Hamilton’s Ferrari suffered significant damage in the accident, with the Scuderia facing a frantic repair job ahead of qualifying later on Saturday afternoon.
Mercedes driver and F1 2026 world championship Kimi Antonelli topped FP3 at Spa, outpacing McLaren driver Lando Norris by 0.139 seconds.
Verstappen was narrowly slower than Norris in third, with George Russell 0.367s off the pace of teammate Antonelli in fourth.
Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc, the winner of the last race in Britain, ended the session fourth and fifth respectively as Ferrari goes in search of consecutive wins for the first time since October 2024.
Sainz, meanwhile, ended the session in 18th place, lapping 0.702s slower than teammate Alex Albon in 16th.
As reported by PlanetF1.com, Ferrari avoided a sporting sanction on Friday at Spa following a procedural error.
The team failed to physically return two sets of tyres for each car following the opening practice session.
Ferrari was fined €5,000 for each driver, resulting in a €10,000 fine in total.
Qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix, the 10th round of the F1 2026 season, will begin at 1600 local time at Spa.
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