FIA confirms Max Verstappen decision after Lewis Hamilton investigation
Max Verstappen has had a few skirmishes with the FIA over the course of his F1 career
SINGAPORE – Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has escaped a penalty by the FIA stewards after overtaking Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton under yellow flags during sprint qualifying at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Verstappen and Hamilton qualified first and sixth respectively in Friday’s sprint qualifying session at the Marina Bay street circuit.
FIA confirms Max Verstappen decision after Lewis Hamilton investigation
The pair were involved in an incident in the early stages of SQ1 after Cadillac driver Sergio Perez struck the wall and damaged his front wing.
Perez opted to return to the pits with a dislodged front wing, leaving debris on the circuit.
With yellow flags waving, Verstappen appeared to pass Hamilton on the approach to the right-hander of Turn 8.
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Hamilton was heard flagging the incident over team radio, telling Ferrari: “Max overtook me under yellow flag.”
Meanwhile, 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.”
Following an investigation, the FIA stewards have confirmed that Verstappen will face no further action.
The stewards’ verdict read: “The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 3 (Max Verstappen), the driver of Car 44 (Lewis Hamilton), team representatives and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, timing, telemetry, team radio and in-car video evidence.
“As Car 3 was exiting turn 7 on a push lap, a single yellow flag was displayed.
“Car 44 was ahead of Car 3 and had been warned of Car 3’s approach.
“The Driver of Car 44 said that after exiting turn 7, he slowed and moved to the right to ensure he was off the racing line.
“Car 3 overtook Car 44 prior to turn 8 while both cars were still in the yellow flag sector. Car 3 then abandoned the push lap.
“The Driver of Car 3 explained that he was on throttle exiting turn 7 and then saw the yellow flag and lifted. This was confirmed by telemetry.
“Within approximately 40 metres of entering the yellow flag sector, the Driver of Car 3 had lifted fully off throttle.
“The Driver of Car 44 was braking and had reduced speed to less than 60km/h at the point Car 3 overtook.
“Because Car 3 was on a push lap and was on throttle out of turn 7 and Car 44 had slowed, the speed differential at the point of the overlap was significant despite the fact that the Driver of Car 3 had also started braking.
“The Stewards were satisfied that the Driver of Car 3 reacted appropriately to the yellow flag by lifting off throttle and reducing speed.
“The speed of Car 3 at the overtake point was some 70km/h less than Car 3’s speed on another push lap in the same session.
“The Driver of Car 3 explained that to have avoided the overtake would have required him to have braked very heavily and he considered to have done so would have potentially created an unsafe situation.
“The Stewards determined that the Driver of Car 3 breached the yellow flag regulation by overtaking Car 44.
“However, the Stewards were satisfied that the overtake was an unfortunate consequence of the significant closing speed differential and, in these circumstances, determined not to impose a penalty.”
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