Max Verstappen might be subject to further investigations from the FIA after several rival teams voiced their displeasure with the stewards for their decisions regarding his Singapore incidents.
Ahead of this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, it has been claimed that a number of Formula 1 teams asked the FIA to justify some of its recent rulings during the Singapore Grand Prix last weekend.
Several Formula 1 teams have requested that incidents from last weekend at the Marina Bay Circuit be “reopened, and the verdicts explained,” according to Auto Motor und Sport.
The three incidents involving Max Verstappen, who somehow avoided receiving a penalty, seem to have generated the greatest amount of debate. After qualifying in Singapore, the FIA looked at three separate incidents involving Verstappen that all involved impeding.
In the first incident, the current World Champion was leaving his garage before his final lap in Q1 when he bizarrely came to a complete stop at the end of the pit lane.
Charles Leclerc, George Russell, and Lewis Hamilton all came to a complete stop as a result of his actions.
Verstappen and Red Bull maintained that he was attempting to enable those in front to get away just a little bit so he could properly prepare for his lap. He remained motionless for a while before finally stepping onto the track.
The second incident similarly happened in Q1. In fact, it happened just before he was ready to begin his final hot lap. Verstappen was involved in a multi-car traffic bottleneck that had developed in the final sector.
Logan Sargeant, who was finishing up his final Q1 push lap, abruptly pushed him to leap out of the path as he began to cruise along the racing line.
Verstappen dodged both of those events without receiving a warning, but his final incident resulted in a reprimand being given to him.
Towards the end of Q2, the 25-year-old recklessly impeded Yuki Tsunoda, causing the Japanese driver to abandon his lap. Verstappen was surprisingly not given the three-place grid penalty that similar occurrences in the past had resulted in.
Instead of receiving a grid drop for the championship leader, Red Bull was fined €5000 for poor communication, leaving numerous teams inquiring as to why.
