Verstappen summoned over alleged F1 yellow flag breach
The Red Bull driver will face the stewards at 1pm local time (10am GMT) in Qatar on Sunday ahead of the race over the incident that puts his front-row starting spot in jeopardy.
Verstappen qualified nearly half a second behind F1 title rival Lewis Hamilton for the inaugural Qatar GP but managed to improve on his final lap despite coming across double waved yellows in the final sector.
The yellow flags were thrown after Pierre Gasly picked up a puncture and front wing damage that left the AlphaTauri driver crawling across the line at the end of Q3.
Verstappen will face an anxious wait to see whether he will keep his P2 starting position or face a grid penalty.
Asked about the incident following qualifying, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff told the media: “He’s passing a flashing red or flashing yellow light on the left and then is passing a double waved yellow and there is a standing car on the road. So I guess that’s a bit of a triple-whammy.”
Hamilton was hit with a three-place grid penalty at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix for the same offence after Red Bull presented new video evidence prior to the race on Sunday.
Verstappen also lost pole position at the 2019 Mexican Grand Prix for failing to slow sufficiently for yellow flags. He received a three-place grid drop on that occasion.
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