The F1 world champion was filmed touching the rear wing of his Red Bull and Hamilton Mercedes right after qualifying on Friday evening in Interlagos, which violates the FIA’s Parc Ferme rules.
Verstappen met with the stewards on Saturday morning in Brazil about the “alleged violation of Article 2.5.1 of the FIA’s International Sports Act”.
In the event of the incident, Verstappen escaped a starting grid, which was decisive for the championship, so that he can start the race from at least second place for the sprint on Saturday.
Heard from Verstappen and Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley, the stewards examined a fan video, CCTV footage from the pit lane, and footage from the cars of Verstappen, Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.
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Full Stewards Report:
“Verstappen gets out of the car and then moves to the back of his car,” the stewards said in a report. “He takes off his gloves and places his right hand on the slot in the rear wing of his car. Then he moves to Car 44 and repeats the exercise, touching the rear wing in two places, once on either side of the DRS actuator, however on the lower back of the wing, in the area of the slot gap and never in the vicinity of the actuator or the end attachment points.
“A clear, high-resolution video from the rear-facing roll hoop camera on car 44 shows that none of the wing elements on car 44 is absolutely moving when Verstappen is touching the back of the wing and the stewards are happy watching.” Videos, his posture, and the video of the wing that there was an insignificant force when Verstappen touched the wing.
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“The stewards realize that it has become a habit for drivers to handle cars after qualifying and the races. This was also Verstappen’s explanation that it was simply a habit of touching this area of the car, which has been a point of speculation in recent races between the two teams. This general trend was seen as mostly harmless and was therefore not monitored consistently. Nevertheless, it violates the Parc Fermé regulation and harbors considerable potential for damage.
“In view of the fact that in this case, in the view of the Stewards, no direct damage has occurred and there is no previous precedent for penalties – on the one hand, but that it is a violation of the regulation and the potential for serious consequences on the other hand, they decide Stewards to take action in this case and to impose a fine of € 50,000. “
However, the stewards warned that future violations could result in “different penalties”.
Meanwhile, Hamilton threatens to be disqualified from qualifying results amid an ongoing hearing about the legality of the rear wing of his Mercedes.
The seven-time world champion’s car was referred to the commissioners after a post-qualifying inspection because of a problem with the gap between the two wing flap elements that make up the Drag Reduction System (DRS).
A possible exclusion for Hamilton, who already carries a starting place penalty of five places in the Grand Prix, would bring him to the end of the field for the sprint and mark his already dwindling title hopes a serious dent.
Hamilton is 19 points behind Verstappen in the drivers’ standings with only four races left this season.
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