FIA launches Max Verstappen investigation after Lewis Hamilton incident
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton: the best of enemies
Max Verstappen is under investigation by the FIA stewards for overtaking Lewis Hamilton under yellow flags during sprint qualifying at the Singapore Grand Prix.
The incident came shortly before a red flag for an accident for Cadillac driver Sergio Perez.
Max Verstappen under investigation by FIA after Lewis Hamilton incident
Verstappen and Hamilton qualified first and sixth respectively in Friday’s sprint qualifying session at the Marina Bay street circuit.
Perez locked up and crashed at Turn 5 in the opening minutes of SQ1 in Singapore, damaging the front wing on his Cadillac, which brought out the yellow flags.
The Mexican driver opted to nurse his wounded car back to the pits with his front wing dislodged, leaving debris on the circuit.
A short time later, Verstappen passed Hamilton into the slow right-hander of Turn 8, with the Ferrari driver flagging the incident over team radio.
Hamilton said: “Max overtook me under yellow flag.”
Verstappen told Red Bull: “It was a bit tricky to judge the yellow. I think I passed him before the yellow, but I just want to be safe.”
The session was suspended minutes later to allow marshals to clear up the debris from Perez’s car.
The incident between Verstappen and Hamilton was noted by the stewards before being upgraded to an investigation.
Hamilton and Verstappen, along with team representatives of Ferrari and Red Bull, are required to report to the stewards at 22:15 local time in Singapore.
Hamilton and Verstappen were later involved in a separate incident in SQ2, with the Red Bull driver encountering a slow-moving Hamilton on the Anderson Bridge section.
“That Ferrari was in my way,” Verstappen reported over team radio.
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Verstappen enters the Singapore Grand Prix weekend after claiming his first victory of the F1 2026 season at last weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
It also marked the first win for the Red Bull Powertrains-Ford engine in Formula 1.
The Sepang race also saw Hamilton return to the podium for the first time in seven races, stretching back to his home race – the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in early July.
Hamilton recovered from a Ferrari strategy error to finish third.
Hamilton sits third in the drivers’ standings ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, trailing second-placed Mercedes by 22 points.
Verstappen’s win in Malaysia saw him draw level on 188 points with McLaren driver and reigning world champion Lando Norris.
Hamilton’s Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc sits three points ahead of Norris and Verstappen in fourth place.
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