Max Verstappen was summoned by the race marshals for failing to comply with a double yellow flag in his final attempt during Q3 in Losail. This is the news that moves the night in the Qatari paddock even more – as if it were further needed. The Dutchman will have to go to the race direction tomorrow morning at 11 am Italian time, 13 pm in Qatar. The handling of the Red Bull # 33 affair was rather convoluted and confusing. The Hasselt native was already second in the standings at the end of his first attempt in the final qualifying phase, but improved further on his final timed lap. On the main straight, however, Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri was stationary on the track, with a punctured front right tire and a broken front wing.
Verstappen has reached the finish line without slowing down, as well as almost all the other drivers present in Q3, excluding Alonso and Vettel. In fact, the two former world champions were the only ones to have lifted their foot from the accelerator in that stretch of track. Initially, however, the leader of the world championship seemed to ‘escape’ any investigation, given that the official light panel that serves as a reference point for the drivers on that stretch of track indicated a green light. On Verstappen’s left, however, there was a commissioner who was waving one double yellow flag, right in front of Gasly’s parked car.
At first, a Federation spokesman said that the display of the double yellow flag was due to an error by the commissioner in charge at that point of the track, who autonomously showed the danger sign without any warning from the Race Direction. But now it seems that the Stewards intend to go deeper into the matter. There is a similar precedent dating back to 2019, in Mexico. Also on that occasion Verstappen improved his time under the yellow flags regime. In that case he was sanctioned with the cancellation of the pole position he had obtained and with three penalty positions on the starting grid. In this circumstance, however, the confusion in the signals between commissioners and bright LEDs could work in his favor.
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