MEXICO CITY — Yet another qualifying result this season sat in limbo while fans and the entire paddock waited to hear the outcomes from numerous stewards investigations, specifically the three alleged impeding incidents ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix
Max Verstappen, George Russell and Fernando Alonso were all summoned by the stewards for allegedly impeding cars while exiting pit lane, giving a sense of Singapore qualifying déjà vu. The Dutchman escaped a grid drop and received only a reprimand for a similar incident during qualifying for the September race. The FIA later stood by the stewards’ decision.
In Mexico, the stewards decided not to penalize Verstappen, Russell or Alonso, but before the decision came, many drivers pointed out how it is a tricky balance. Here’s what you need to know now about the two pit lane incidents and the ramifications.
Why Verstappen received only a reprimand in Singapore
During Q1 in Singapore, Verstappen sat at the pit exit, and he later told the stewards that he waited around 14 seconds to create a gap.
Advertisement
It created a confusing situation for the cars behind, but according to the stewards’ decision document, a Red Bull team representative explained Verstappen’s “gap was negated by Turn 5 due to other cars slowing on the out lap, whilst the car behind (Verstappen) had increased its gap to 12 seconds.”
The stewards decided there wasn’t an “obvious advantage” to Verstappen waiting at the end of pit lane “for what is deemed to be an extraordinarily long time, the potential for this to negatively impact other drivers warrants a penalty.” The stewards, though, also noted the car behind Verstappen could have overtaken the RB19; however, “it is preferable that cars depart the pit exit in an orderly manner.”
A reprimand was deemed the appropriate punishment.
What drivers had to say in Mexico City
The end of pit lane became a traffic jam during Q1, but as Valtteri Bottas said, “There was a lot of bunching, but that seems to be the standard nowadays.”
Drivers try to make a gap before their out lap, so they can drive in the cleanest air possible and avoid traffic. However, it’s a tricky balance. Bottas said, “You’re not meant to go unnecessarily slow. But then, when you’re queueing up behind each other, it’s tricky to know. It’s a fine line. You just try and leave a gap, but not too much.”
Carlos Sainz pointed out how the pit lane incident is a more common occurrence than many fans may realize. “We all actually slow down at the end of the pit lane to create an eight-second or seven or six-second gap to the car in front. And yes, you expect everyone behind you to overtake you because they also need to open an eight-second gap.” Verstappen echoed just how critical that six to eight-second gap is for the drivers during qualifying, adding, “That’s why it’s moved to the pit lane instead of the track, which in most cases is a safer scenario, but still it brings some kind of problem as well.”
Advertisement
The Dutchman was left feeling “quite surprised” by the investigation. “I think everyone should then be called up for impeding because everyone with this new rule is driving very slowly in the pit lane.” The rule Verstappen is referring to is the maximum delta time between the safety car lines that numerous drivers have been noted for this season. Essentially, it’s whether drivers go too slowly on an out lap, and it was introduced at Monza. In Mexico, Russell, Lando Norris and Zhou Guanyu were noted for exceeding it.
Verstappen feels leniency is needed in a scenario like what happened in Mexico because pit lane is the safest option to create a gap. He added, “It’s the only place we can make a gap. We drive out of the box, and of course, we’re at the beginning of the pit lane, we don’t know if cars and what other people are doing.” The alternative to this option is drivers creating the gap in the final sector, which can be dangerous not only for those queuing but also for the drivers on a flying lap.
As Verstappen pointed out, the right compromise needs to be found to stop this being a recurring matter for the stewards to review after each qualifying session. Even if no penalties are awarded and all drivers are cleared, the frustration from the drivers is proof the current system is not working — and will need to be reviewed moving forward.
Why no further action was taken in Mexico
The stewards said in Saturday’s decision documents that other cars also slowed down “either at the pit exit or in the pit road leading up to the SC2 line.”
Ultimately, they decided the incidents resulted from minimum lap time implemented between the safety car lines, which was created “to avoid dangerous backing-up of cars on the circuit during Qualification. We note that there are contrary requirements on drivers in that they must respect the minimum time, they are attempting to create manageable gaps to cars in front, yet they are also required to avoid unnecessarily stopping at the pit exit or driving unnecessarily slowly.”
Advertisement
Perhaps most importantly to the FIA’s decision, the stewards said they felt all of the drivers “were acting in good faith.”
Everyone, including the stewards, felt “it is better to have the potential of cars backing-up in the pit lane or at the pit exit, instead of the potentially dangerous situation of large speed differences on track.” At the same time, the stewards felt race control took the right approach by applying minimum lap times.
“It is desirable that a better solution be found for the pit exit however at this stage, what that solution would be, is unknown.”
GO DEEPER
My Las Vegas GP journey: From Netflix to trackside at F1's biggest spectacle
(Lead photo of Max Verstappen: Clive Mason – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57lGlncWlmZnxzfJFsZmpoX2eFcLKQZqSesJmYvG6zz2anoqxdoa6vsYyipKmdlJ67qHnVnqmsrJGlvaa6jg%3D%3D