Verstappen Keeps Singapore Sprint Pole as Stewards Clear Him Over Yellow Flag Overtake
Max Verstappen remains on pole position for Saturday's Singapore Sprint after a post-session stewards' investigation into an alleged yellow flag infringement ended without a penalty.
The Red Bull driver was investigated for overtaking Ferrari rival Lewis Hamilton under yellow flags brought out when Sergio Perez's Cadillac hit the barriers in the opening SQ1 phase of Sprint Qualifying.
The incident in SQ1
The flashpoint came as Verstappen was on a push lap exiting Turn 7, where a single yellow flag was being displayed. Hamilton, running ahead, was warned of the Red Bull closing in behind him.
"Max overtook me under yellow flags," Hamilton reported over the radio. Verstappen, meanwhile, was quick to offer his own take: "I'll let Lewis by again. I think I passed him before the yellow, but I just want to be safe."
Stewards: a breach, but no penalty
After noting the incident and investigating it thoroughly post-session, the stewards determined that while Verstappen had indeed breached the yellow flag regulations, the circumstances meant his actions did not warrant a penalty.
The stewards' decision document read: "As Car 3 [Verstappen] was exiting Turn 7 on a push lap, a single yellow flag was displayed. Car 44 [Hamilton] was ahead of Car 3 and had been warned of Car 3's approach. The driver of Car 44 said that after exiting Turn 7, he slowed and moved to the right to ensure he was off the racing line. Car 3 overtook Car 44 prior to Turn 8 while both cars were still in the yellow flag sector. Car 3 then abandoned the push lap.
"The driver of Car 3 explained that he was on throttle exiting Turn 7 and then saw the yellow flag and lifted. This was confirmed by telemetry. Within approximately 40 metres of entering the yellow flag sector, the driver of Car 3 had lifted fully off throttle. The driver of Car 44 was braking and had reduced speed to less than 60km/h at the point Car 3 overtook.
"Because Car 3 was on a push lap and was on throttle out of Turn 7 and Car 44 had slowed, the speed differential at the point of the overlap was significant despite the fact that the driver of Car 3 had also started braking.
"The stewards were satisfied that the driver of Car 3 reacted appropriately to the yellow flag by lifting off throttle and reducing speed. The speed of Car 3 at the overtake point was some 70km/h less than Car 3's speed on another push lap in the same session.
"The driver of Car 3 explained that to have avoided the overtake would have required him to have braked very heavily and he considered to have done so would have potentially created an unsafe situation.
"The stewards determined that the driver of Car 3 breached the yellow flag regulation by overtaking Car 44. However, the stewards were satisfied that the overtake was an unfortunate consequence of the significant closing speed differential and, in these circumstances, determined not to impose a penalty."
Verstappen: the car "came alive a little bit more"
Speaking before the stewards' decision landed, an upbeat Verstappen – who claimed his and Red Bull's first win of the season at Sepang last time out – explained how the RB22 "came alive a little bit more" through Sprint Qualifying.
He said: "It's always close here in Singapore. Also your lap itself. You're pushing as hard as you think is possible, close to the walls in places.
"For sure, once we bolted on the soft tyres [in SQ3], it felt like the car was coming alive a little bit more, but I did not expect this. Of course, [I'm] very happy to be first.
"I think in the last few races we've been a lot stronger. This track still highlights a few little weaknesses in the car, but we managed to drive with them as well as possible."
The verdict means Verstappen's pole – secured ahead of George Russell, with Charles Leclerc third, according to prior coverage of the session – stands for Saturday's Sprint, clearing the way for the Red Bull driver to convert his qualifying speed into points around the Marina Bay street circuit.