Max Verstappen's hard-fought pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix has been stripped away after the Red Bull driver received a one-place grid penalty for impeding Mercedes' George Russell during Saturday's qualifying session.
The stewards' decision elevates Russell to pole for Sunday's race.
The controversy unfolded during the build-up to a flying lap when Verstappen, driving at reduced speed to prepare his tires, was encountered by Russell in the fast, triple-right sequence of Turns 12-14 at the Lusail International Circuit.
Russell had to brake sharply to avoid a collision, even dipping a wheel into the gravel on the outside of Turn 12. The Mercedes driver called the situation “super dangerous” over the team radio.
The stewards investigated the incident, scrutinizing both drivers' actions. They concluded that Verstappen had violated race director guidelines by driving unnecessarily slowly on the racing line and outside of his delta time.
In their report, the stewards explained:
“Car 1 [Verstappen] was on a different preparation strategy than that of Car 63 [Russell]. Car 1 was well outside of the delta and the driver of Car 1 explained he had let Cars 4 and 14 past.
“The driver of Car 63 claimed that he had adhered to the delta and did not expect Car 1 to be on the racing line. I have stated that if a car was going slow in a high-speed corner, it should not be on the racing line.
“The Stewards regard this case as a complicated one in that clearly Car 1 did not comply with the Race Director's Event Notes and clearly was driving, in our determination, unnecessarily slowly considering the circumstances."
The report also highlighted that Verstappen was cooling his tires and had been aware of Russell approaching, noting he had looked in his mirrors multiple times.
While the stewards deemed Verstappen at fault, they reduced the typical penalty due to the circumstances.
“Unusually, this incident occurred when neither car was on a push lap,” they stated. “Had Car 63 been on a push lap, the penalty would have most likely been the usual three grid position penalty.
“However, in mitigation of the penalty, it was obvious that the driver of Car 63 had clear visibility of Car 1 and that neither car was on a push lap.”
Consequently, Verstappen received a one-place grid drop, moving him from first to second on the starting grid.
Before the penalty was confirmed, Verstappen was questioned about the incident, and admitted to being surprised that he was summoned to the stewards' office.
“We were all just driving slowly,” he said. “I wouldn't know what I could have done differently.
“The fact that I have to go [to the stewards' office] is already very strange to me. Otherwise, next time I'll just drive flat out too and pretend to crash [into the other car].
“He [Russell] should have braked. I braked. Just like the cars in front of me. And I don't want to screw them. “I'm honestly a bit done with all of this at the end of the season.”
Verstappen's demotion hands George Russell his second career pole position and sets up a fascinating dynamic for Sunday's race.
Verstappen will start alongside him on the front row, with McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri behind in third and fourth.
As Red Bull continues to face challenges late in the season, Verstappen's frustration underscores the high stakes and intense scrutiny in Formula 1's ultra-competitive environment.
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