Max Verstappen reacts to Lewis Hamilton impeding incident under FIA review in Monaco. Lewis Hamilton is under investigation for impeding Max Verstappen during Q1 in Monaco.

For the first time this year, Ferrari performed well from the early stages of a race weekend, as confirmed by the second and fourth places in qualifying for Leclerc and Hamilton respectively. However, the Briton’s position is under threat due to an incident with Max Verstappen.

The Ferrari driver managed to take part in qualifying despite his crash at the end of FP3, but it wasn’t an easy start. The incident with the Red Bull driver happened in Q1, where Lewis Hamilton was on a slow lap while Max Verstappen was charging at full speed down the straight before the Casino.

Riccardo Adami warned his driver about the approaching Dutchman, but also said he was slowing down. As a result, Lewis Hamilton stayed off the racing line on the left side, but possibly not far enough to avoid disturbing the four-time world champion, who then voiced his frustration over the radio.

Lewis Hamilton also expressed irritation to his race engineer over the misleading information. Shortly afterward, the FIA launched an investigation into the episode and announced that both drivers would be heard after the session.

The two drivers had a chance to speak briefly at the end of qualifying. Max Verstappen also commented on the incident in an interview with Sky Sport Italia. Journalist Mara Sangiorgio asked the Red Bull driver whether he thought the British driver would receive a penalty.

“No, I spoke quickly with Lewis and it wasn’t his fault, it was the team who told him I was going slow,” said the Hasselt native. “But actually, I was on a push lap. I’m never in favour of penalties, but if we look at the past, I got a grid penalty for impeding someone who wasn’t even on a fast lap.” – the Red Bull driver pointed out.

“Let’s see, we’ll discuss it, we’ve already spoken briefly with Lewis. It’s never great when it happens in a fast corner like that, but it doesn’t look like he’ll get a penalty.” That’s Max Verstappen’s version of events, while he and Hamilton are now with the stewards to review the incident.

If a penalty is confirmed, the Ferrari driver would start behind the Red Bull driver, who currently lines up directly behind him in P5.