Max Verstappen Stands Alone: Only Driver Penalized for Slow Driving Since 2022

Max Verstappen and Red Bull produced one of the most remarkable turnarounds in a matter of hours on Saturday as the Dutchman registered the fastest lap time during qualifying, having only managed a disappointing P8 finish during the sprint race. While the 27-year-old was quite impressive to earn P1 in qualifying, he will not start the Qatar GP on pole.

After the qualifying session concluded, the FIA handed one of the strangest penalties — a one-place grid drop to Verstappen — for driving excessively slowly. The penalty is so peculiar that Verstappen happens to be the only driver to have received such a penalty since 2022. Per Daniel Valente, who looks for some of the most interesting statistics in the sport,

“Looked up all the FIA decision documents labeled “driving unnecessarily slowly” or “failure to follow race director’s instructions/notes” since 2022 & Max Verstappen is the only one who has received a grid drop of any kind OR a penalty point as punishment”.

Looked up all the FIA decision documents labelled “driving unnecessarily slowly” or “failure to follow race director’s instructions/notes” since 2022 & Max Verstappen is the only one who has received a grid drop of any kind OR a penalty point as punishment.

That is something… pic.twitter.com/l28lCg8N0U

— Daniel Valente ️ (@F1GuyDan) December 1, 2024

As Verstappen has already sealed his fourth consecutive world championship in Las Vegas, this penalty will not bother him much. With the Dutchman penalized, George Russell will start a second consecutive Grand Prix from pole.

What is interesting about Verstappen’s penalty is that he received it after it was none other than Russell who raised concerns about him driving necessarily slowly on his out lap.

Although the typical penalty for such an offense is a three-place grid drop, the FIA only handed the Red Bull driver a one-place grid penalty as they cited that Verstappen’s slow driving did not impact Russell severely as the Briton was also on an out lap.

Had Russell been on a flying lap, the Dutchman would have received a three-place grid drop, which could have hurt his chances of fighting for the race win.