Stewards Clear Verstappen of Penalty After Singapore Sprint Qualifying Incident

Max Verstappen will maintain his pole position for the Singapore Sprint race after an investigation into his actions during Sprint Qualifying concluded without penalty. The Red Bull driver was scrutinized for allegedly passing Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton under yellow flags, an incident that arose when Sergio Perez's Cadillac met the barriers in the opening SQ1 phase.

Hamilton quickly reported the overtake over team radio, while Verstappen, ever the diplomat, offered to let Hamilton by again, noting, "I think I passed him before the yellow, but I just want to be safe." After a thorough review, the stewards acknowledged Verstappen's breach of the yellow flag rules but deemed that the situation did not merit a penalty.

The stewards' report detailed the incident: as Verstappen exited Turn 7, a single yellow flag was displayed. Hamilton, having been warned of Verstappen's approach, was ahead and moved aside. Verstappen overtook Hamilton before Turn 8, still within the yellow flag zone, but subsequently abandoned his push lap.

Telemetry confirmed that Verstappen lifted off the throttle within 40 meters of the yellow flag sector, while Hamilton had slowed significantly. The stewards noted that the speed differential was considerable, even though Verstappen had begun braking. They concluded that avoiding the overtake would have required excessive braking, potentially leading to an unsafe scenario.

In light of these findings, the stewards decided not to penalize Verstappen, stating the overtake was an "unfortunate consequence" of the speed difference. Post-session, Verstappen expressed satisfaction with the car's performance, remarking, "It’s always close here in Singapore. Once we bolted on the soft tyres, it felt like the car was coming alive a little bit more, but I did not expect this."

With Red Bull's recent success, including a win at Sepang, Verstappen noted their improved performance despite the track's challenges. "This track still highlights a few little weaknesses in the car, but we managed to drive with them as well as possible," he concluded.