Max Verstappen took pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix on the road but was investigated by the F1 stewards after the session for an incident involving Carlos Sainz.
Max Verstappen retained his pole position at the Qatar Grand Prix after surviving an investigation into a near-crash involving Carlos Sainz.
Two drivers nearly collided during qualifying on Friday night. Both appeared to be jostling for track position when not in the hot laps as they got a little closer for comfort, with the front wing of Verstappen’s Red Bull narrowly avoiding the back of the Ferrari.
Luckily, they were out of contact so they didn’t notice any damage. But race management took a dim view of the situation and reported the incident to stewards for their post-race investigation. Verstappen and Sainz have been asked to meet the stewards at 10pm local time for an explanation. The two were then photographed leaving the race control tower, chatting happily and warmly wishing each other good night.
Stewards have now confirmed that no sporting sanctions have been imposed on the drivers for this incident. Sainz received a warning from the stewards, confirmed by an official FIA document.
It reads:
“Car 55 [Sainz] is on the recovery lap while car 1 [Verstappen] is on the last lap. When vehicle 1 caught up with vehicle 55 and attempted to overtake, the driver of vehicle 55 defended his position and did so unpredictably by the pursuing vehicle. At the hearing, the driver of car No. 55 said that he could not be overtaken by another vehicle because he had to run under the maximum lap time between SC 2 and 1.
Although this was accepted by the stewards as well as the driver of car 1, the actions of car 55 were deemed unnecessary as the incident occurred during qualifying and the cars were not allowed to compete live. continue in preparation for the race. flying tower. The commissioners determined that a warning was appropriate in this case given the circumstances.
This means Verstappen retains pole position for Sunday’s Grand Prix. “The tarmac doesn’t offer a lot of grip so it’s really improving from lap to lap. I think we’re in a good spot, we’re improving quite well, race after race another race,” he said after the race.
“Especially run one in Q3, the car felt quite good, it felt like a good lap, but it was also really on the edge of knowing what is the limit at the moment with the track surface. So it made it quite tough, but overall, very happy with the performance, and the day.”
However, Verstappen probably won’t need to wait until Sunday to complete his main weekend duties. Just three points from Saturday’s Sprint race would be enough for the Dutchman to mathematically seal the 2023 drivers’ title which he is already all-but assured.