Several leading F1 drivers, including Max Verstappen, have been called before the stewards at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Three leading F1 drivers headed off to see the FIA stewards ahead of qualifying in Monaco, including championship leader Max Verstappen.
Red Bull, Mercedes, and McLaren were summoned by stewards after attracting attention during two different incidents in the third and final practice session in Monte Carlo.
Max Verstappen summoned for driving too slowly
Max Verstappen’s challenging weekend persisted on Saturday, as Red Bull faced struggles in finding a comfortable window for their RB20 during a tough Friday in Monte Carlo.
Despite facing heavy traffic, the Dutch driver’s flying laps were hindered, possibly masking his true speed as he finished just two-tenths of a second behind the fastest driver, Charles Leclerc.
However, Verstappen’s pace in the final minute of FP3 was reduced due to encountering traffic on his last flying lap. As a result, he was called in for an alleged violation of Article 33.4 of the FIA F1 Sporting Regulations, which prohibits driving unnecessarily slowly on track. The specific Article emphasizes that a car should not be driven in a manner that is erratic, potentially dangerous to other drivers, or any other individual.
Verstappen received a warning from the stewards before qualifying due to his slow driving.
According to the statement, the Stewards listened to the testimony of the driver of Car 1, Max Verstappen, along with a team representative. They also examined various pieces of evidence such as video footage, team radio communications, and in-car video recordings. After considering all this information, the Stewards concluded that Car 1 was in the midst of a quick lap but had to abandon it because of traffic at Turn 17.
After receiving the instruction from the team to take the chequered flag, he noticed that there was still some time left before reaching the finish line. Glancing at the TV screens, he saw that there were only 20 seconds remaining in the session. In response, he veered off the racing line at Turn 19’s exit and positioned himself to the far left, away from the main racing path. He maintained this position until he successfully crossed the finish line, securing the end of the session.
While engaged in the activity, he proceeded at an exceptionally sluggish pace, occasionally reaching speeds as low as 20 kph. Although his actions were not perilous and did not hinder other motorists, he violated Article 33.4 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations by unnecessarily driving at a slow speed on the start-finish straight.
This breach results in a warning being issued to the driver of Car 1.
Nish Shetty, Matthew Selley, Derek Warwick, and Jean-Francois Calmes are the FIA stewards for this weekend.
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Lando Norris reprimanded for George Russell incident
George Russell and Lando Norris were individually called upon for separate incidents, albeit under the same Article of the Sporting Regulations.
As Norris was on a flying lap, making his way through the tunnel, he unexpectedly came across Russell, who was moving slowly along the racing line as he emerged into daylight. This caused Norris, the driver of McLaren, to abruptly decelerate.
As Norris squeezed his car into Russell Street, he didn’t hesitate to express his emotions. He grabbed the radio and labeled all the drivers as “idiots,” although he quickly added with a good-natured tone, “Well, not all of them, just a few.”
As his lap was ruined, the Miami GP winner slowly made his way back to the pits. His engineer responded, “I won’t require you to identify the ones that are or aren’t.”
Despite the initial expectation that Russell would face repercussions from the stewards, it was ultimately Norris who received punishment from the FIA stewards. The British driver was reprimanded for crowding Russell, marking his second reprimand this season.
“The Stewards received testimony from Lando Norris, driver of Car 4, George Russell, driver of Car 63, as well as team representatives. They thoroughly examined various pieces of evidence including video footage, team radio communications, and in-car videos. Based on their findings, it was concluded that Car 4 intentionally veered towards Car 63 to convey his dissatisfaction regarding the interference caused by Car 63 at the exit of the tunnel leading up to Turn 10,” he explained.
“Although the move in this particular case did not pose any immediate danger, such actions have the potential to create hazardous situations and should be avoided. Consequently, we are issuing a reprimand to the driver of Car 4.”
With a time that ranked him sixth, Russell concluded the session, while Norris secured the eighth spot, with only 0.020 seconds separating the pair.
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