Verstappen punished by stewards after Sochi qualifying

Joas van Wingerden Saturday 29 September 2018 17:55

Verstappen punished by stewards after Sochi qualifying

Max Verstappen was handed a three-place grid penalty and two penalty points on his super licence after ignoring yellow flags during qualifying for the Russian Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver's grid drop is largely immaterial as he was already due to start from the back to a change of power unit and gearbox.

Verstappen was found to have not slowed down sufficiently after Sergey Sirotkin spun in Q1, which brought out yellow flags at the end of the session.

Article continues under video

A three-place grid penalty takes Verstappen's total grid drops to 43, although he will start on the back row, alongside Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo.

Verstappen now has seven penalty points on his licence over a 12-month period, if drivers accrue 12 points over a year they must serve a one-race ban.

The stewards report read: "The driver admitted seeing the yellow flag and stated that he steered to the left to avoid the stationary car (number 35). However, the regulation is very clear and states 'It must be evident that a driver has reduced speed'. The telemetry showed that the driver maintained full throttle and did not apply any braking.

"In his defence, the driver expressed the view that he felt he had acted safely.

"The stewards noted that the driver understood the error in not slowing and acknowledged that in future he will comply with the regulations."

MORE: Bottas dismisses suggestion of Mercedes team orders
MORE: Bottas upsets Hamilton to take Sochi pole

Latest News

Racing Superstars

McLaren star achieves HISTORIC race victory

17 minutes ago

F1 Off the Track

Ex-Red Bull F1 star sees race CANCELLED after bizarre crash

1 hour ago

F1 News & Gossip

Wolff reveals Pep Guardiola role in Hamilton Ferrari switch

2 hours ago

F1 Today

F1 News Today: Mercedes handed Hamilton blame as champion given NEW contract

3 hours ago

GPFans Exclusive

EXCLUSIVE: Red Bull star highlights KEY Perez failure as replacement rumours swirl

Today 12:57

Latest F1 News

F1 team announce NEW signing with official statement

Today 11:57

More news

F1 Race Calendar 2024

GP MONACO 24 - 26 May

GP AUSTRIA 28 - 30 Jun

George Russell

GP GREAT BRITAIN 5 - 7 Jul

Lewis Hamilton

GP HUNGARY 19 - 21 Jul

Oscar Piastri

GP BELGIUM 26 - 28 Jul

Lewis Hamilton

GP NETHERLANDS 23 - 25 Aug

Lando Norris

GP ITALY 30 Aug - 1 Sep

Charles Leclerc

GP AZERBAIJAN 13 - 15 Sep

Oscar Piastri

GP SINGAPORE 20 - 22 Sep

Lando Norris

GP USA 18 - 20 Oct

Charles Leclerc

GP MEXICO 25 - 27 Oct

GP QATAR 29 Nov - 1 Dec

GP ABU DHABI 6 - 8 Dec

Complete kalender 2024

F1 News 24/7

Races

About GPFans

GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.

We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.

With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.

Follow us on your favorite social media channel

Corporate & Media

Innovatieweg 20C
7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860

CHOOSE YOUR COUNTRY