As if the already existing and fiery controversies between Red Bull and Mercedes weren’t enough, the qualifying for the Grand Prix of Qatar could open another chapter of this cold war, which has now reached its maximum levels: the episode, which is already causing discussion, focuses on what happened in the final seconds of Q3 in Losail, with the damage to the front wing of the AlphaTauri from Pierre Gasly which forced the French to park his car in the third sector, also due to the puncture of the rear right wheel.
At that point, the race marshals exposed the double yellow flag just when some cars arrived and, among these, also that of Max Verstappen. But while some drivers aborted their lap to comply with the yellow flag regime, the Red Bull Dutchman did not take his foot off the accelerator, finishing his attempt without improving his second place. Due to this suspected non-compliance, the world championship leader was summoned by the stewards on Sunday morning to clarify his version of events like Carlos Sainz and Valtteri Bottas.
Among the various insiders who expressed themselves on the case that took place at the end of the session, the Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, hopes that action can be taken against Mad Max. If this does not happen, it would be a real injustice for the Austrian manager: “I saw the episode – commented – I think there was a flashing yellow light on the left and the display of the double flag for the car stopped on the track. For us it would be a triple setback. Red Bull had protested a similar event that happened with Albon, where we had not respected a yellow flag placed outside the track. I don’t want to add anything else – he concluded – we are in the hands of the commissioners and they will be the ones to examine what happened in order to arrive at a verdict ”.
The case Wolff refers to in his statements dates back to Austrian Grand Prix 2020. In that circumstance, Hamilton signed the pole in the same lap in which Alexander Albon retired, then in force at Red Bull. Despite the display of the yellow flag, the Englishman did not slow down, raising the protests of the Austrian team, which asked the Race Direction to review the images. Only thanks to this revaluation – which also allowed the accusation against the British for having exceeded the track limits – was the seven-time world champion then penalized by relegating three positions from the grid.
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