The FIA has admitted to Formula 1 teams that the controversial decision to only give Max Verstappen a reprimand for an incident during qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix was incorrect. The Dutchman should have received a penalty, dropping him from 11th to 14th on the starting grid for impeding Yuki Tsunoda.
The FIA has confirmed that Verstappen should have received the standard three-place grid penalty for one of his two infractions, which would have pushed him from 11th to 14th on the starting grid.
Furthermore, the FIA has promised that the decisions in Singapore will not be used as precedents and will be effectively erased from the database of past incidents that stewards refer to for their decisions.
Verstappen was subject to three investigations: one for obstructing Yuki Tsunoda, another for blocking Logan Sargeant, and a third for stopping at the end of the pit lane, creating a queue of cars behind him.
In the end, Verstappen escaped any possible sanctions for the Sargeant incident and received two reprimands for the other two incidents, obstructing Yuki Tsunoda and waiting in the pit lane.
The fact that he did not receive a radio message related to Tsunoda was considered a mitigating circumstance, and the team was fined €5,000. The decision surprised rival teams and drivers, as traditionally, such incidents lead to grid penalties, to the extent that several teams went to the race stewards to discuss the matter.
At the end of qualifying, even Max Verstappen himself expected to receive at least a grid penalty and took full responsibility for the Tsunoda incident. Speaking to Motorsport.com, the two-time world champion explained, “Yeah, it wasn’t great. I didn’t see him because I was on the radio talking about an issue. And then I didn’t get any instructions until he was pretty much right behind me. That sums up my qualifying; it was super hectic and messy.”
Pierre Gasly, who received two three-place penalties for impeding during the Spanish Grand Prix weekend, was one of many confused by the race’s outcome. “I had decisions against me, with penalties totaling six grid positions in Barcelona this year, and it was certainly much less than what I saw yesterday [Saturday in Singapore]. Maybe now this is allowed. I don’t know; I will ask.”
Lando Norris was another driver who did not understand why only a reprimand was given: “I think there should be harsher penalties for those who block, because many do it. It ruins the lap, ruins the qualifying, put Yuki out of action in qualifying, who was first in Q1. No one seems to care enough. It has happened often this season, it has happened to me several times, especially with certain teams,” the Englishman said on the eve of the Japanese weekend.
The issue was addressed in the team managers’ meeting on Friday at Suzuka, with steward Matteo Perini, who worked in Singapore and is continuing in Japan, admitting that, upon reviewing the Verstappen incident, a grid penalty should have been imposed.
Additionally, Logan Sargeant should probably have received a penalty for a separate incident involving Lance Stroll, although in his case, there were other circumstances that led to the decision not to penalize him.
Perini confirmed that Verstappen’s reprimands will not be used as a precedent in the future and that the lack of radio warnings from teams about approaching cars should not be considered a mitigating circumstance protecting the driver from a more severe punishment.
Regarding Max Verstappen’s incident in the pit lane, the Singapore stewards upheld their original decision to give a reprimand as waiting in the pit lane is not explicitly prohibited by the regulations but told the FIA that there should be a rule covering such circumstances.
Although teams and drivers now have clarity, they may also question the fact that in Singapore, the Dutchman started three places ahead of where he should have, potentially denying rivals valuable points, with an easier climb to his fifth-place finish.
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