Hulkenberg to see FIA Stewards with Italian GP Q3 under investigation

Updated: Nico Hulkenberg, Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll have all been requested to see the FIA Stewards for allegedly driving unnecessarily slowly during Q3.

Nico Hulkenberg will meet the FIA Stewards following his role in the Italian Grand Prix qualifying incident in the closing stages of Q3 which is under investigation by the F1 governing body.

After Kimi Raikkonen’s crash triggered a red flag suspension midway through Q3, all drivers left in the final qualifying session opted to wait until the last moment to leave the pits to start their final lap.

But with all drivers desperate to gain a tow none of them wanted to lead on the track which created the situation of all drivers backing up waiting for others to overtake.

Only Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc made it to the start/finish line to begin their final lap before the chequered flag was shown, meaning all other drivers were timed out, which is now being investigated by the FIA Stewards.

Hulkenberg was first on track when exiting the pits but opted to miss the first corner chicane on his out lap, going around the escape road, and has duly been requested to see the FIA Stewards after allegedly breaching F1 rules over leaving the track without a justifiable reason.

The Renault driver puts the “weird and strange” situation down to everyone in Q3 hunting a tow from a rival which has become heightened in recent seasons because the current era of F1 cars are so sensitive to the tow.

“We are all looking for a tow because if you want to do the ultimate fastest lap time that is what you need from around do here as the tow is so powerful,” Hulkenberg, who has provisionally qualified in sixth place, said.

“When you drive on your own you lose out on the straights and you can’t make up that time in the corners so that is why we ended up with these conditions. To some extent it is also down to these cars as the tow effect is massive but of course it was a bit weird and strange, that last out lap.

“Everybody starts slowing down, that’s the thing with nobody wanting to be first on the train. That’s what you get.”