Livid Max Verstappen fumes at ‘stupid, ridiculous’ red flag timing
Max Verstappen takes aim at delay in bringing out red flag after Lance Stroll's Q2 crash in Brazil.
An angry Max Verstappen has questioned the timing of the red flag for Lance Stroll’s crash after his shock Q2 exit at the F1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Red Bull’s Verstappen was dumped out in the second part of a chaotic and wet qualifying on Sunday morning with a time only good enough for 12th. With a five-place grid drop for an engine change still to be applied, it means he is set to start the race from 17th.
Verstappen could not improve and any hope of advancing was wrecked when Stroll crashed his Aston Martin in the closing moments of Q2. The incident brought out the red flag, but Verstappen was critical of the “ridiculous” time it took to suspend the session.
“If a guy goes straight into the wall, it is a straight red,” Verstappen told Sky Sports F1. “I don't understand why you need to take 30, 40 seconds for a red flag to come out…”
When it was suggested to him it might have been to allow some drivers to finish their laps, Verstappen responded: “I don’t care in all honesty, it is so stupid to talk about. It’s ridiculous.”
Verstappen’s F1 title rival Lando Norris stormed to pole position in Brazil, marking a blow to the Dutchman’s world championship hopes on a weekend he has already seen his advantage cut to 44 points over the McLaren driver.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner echoed Verstappen’s frustration about the delay in bringing out the red flag.
"It's hugely frustrating,” Horner told Sky. "A session like that there's obviously a huge amount going on. We don't understand why it took so long for it [the red flag] to come out.
"It was obviously a big accident, one of the most dangerous corners on the circuit, 40 seconds it took to throw the red flag. It's the second day in a row now that we have had very late calls, whether it was the VSC yesterday or the red flag today. The other red flags were all instantaneous.
"Very, very harsh but it is what it is and we've got to try and fight back this afternoon.
"As soon as you have an accident like that it should be an immediate red flag. If they had red-flagged it immediately Max would have been 10th and he would have had time for another lap.
"We would like to understand the thinking of the race director to understand why it took so long to throw that red flag."
Lewis regularly attends Grands Prix for Crash.net around the world. Often reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
