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Max Verstappen Grid Penalty: Lance Stroll Adds Salt to Red Bull Star’s Wounds

Somin Bhattacharjee
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Sprint Race F1 Grand Prix of Brazil SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - NOVEMBER 02: MAX VERSTAPPEN of ORACLE RED BULL RACING answers questions in the press conference

Max Verstappen’s Sao Paulo GP weekend keeps going from bad to worse. After a penalty-affected sprint on Saturday, an unusual qualifying session under treacherous conditions saw Verstappen get knocked out of Q2, which when coupled with his impending five-place grid penalty, created the perfect recipe for disaster. As expected, he was livid.

The three-time world champion was on an out-lap when red flags came out in the second part of qualifying because Lance Stroll lost control of his Aston Martin, spun out, and hit the barriers. Verstappen, however, questioned the timing of the red flag (as he did with the Virtual Safety Car yesterday).

“The car hits the wall, it needs to be a straight red. I don’t understand why it needs to take 30-40 seconds for a red flag to come out. It’s just ********,” Verstappen said to Sky Sports.

The stewards did wait a while to assess the situation before halting proceedings, but to be fair to them, Stroll was trying to get his car running for a few seconds. The decision-makers had to be sure that he was stuck, and out of the session, while also monitoring the damage done to the barriers.

Unfortunately for Verstappen, by that time, other drivers had put in better lap times, which dropped him down to P12.

That is a bad enough starting position as it is, but to make things even more difficult, Verstappen will face a further grid drop because of taking new engine components coming into Interlagos. This means Verstappen will start from P17 on the grid.

The Red Bull driver’s championship rival Lando Norris meanwhile, got into Q3 and would be vying for a pole position. Last weekend, the McLaren driver got a 10-point advantage over Verstappen.

This weekend, if he gets a similar result, which will likely be aided by Verstappen’s 17th-place start, the previously comfortable lead held by the Dutchman will start looking fragile. Norris’ deficit is currently at 44 points.

Post Edited By:Aishwary Gaonkar

About the author

Somin Bhattacharjee

Somin Bhattacharjee

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Formula 1 Editor Somin Bhattacharjee fell for the sport as well as Fernando Alonso on the same day — during the Spaniard’s thrilling victory at the German GP in 2010. Over the years, the passion magnified manyfold, and metamorphosed into a writing career in 2021. Though holding a bachelor's degree in marketing, Somin discovered his true calling in writing. He has penned over 2,700 articles for TheSportsRush, presenting a diverse range — news reports, opinions, and exclusives. A true Tiffosi, Somin never gives up on a chance to defend the Ferrari boys as a fan. As a sports writer though, he remains objective to the core and relishes opportunities to follow and engage in dissecting the action during races. That’s where the real thrill lies for him. Beyond the racetrack, Somin plays different sports including soccer. He enjoys exploring other sporting events and proudly supports Spanish soccer club Real Madrid.

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