F1 STEWARDS MAKE MAX VERSTAPPEN PENALTY DECISION AFTER AUSTRIAN GP RULE BROKEN

Max Verstappen escaped punishment after breaking rules around the media duties Formula 1 drivers are obliged to fulfil.

All F1 drivers have to do a certain amount of media work over the course of an F1 race weekend. Part of that is attending the official FIA press conference on a Thursday, if called to do so, and Verstappen's name was one of those on the list this week in Spielberg.

But he missed the first 15 minutes of the Q&A session. After looking into the circumstances, the stewards decided that the Dutchman had broken the rules, but that no fine was necessary.

They wrote: "The media delegate reported that the driver had some transportation issues on the way to the track, but the team informed the FIA in advance. The stewards conclude that the driver and the team took every reasonable measure given the circumstances and therefore impose no penalty despite technically the regulations have been breached."

While he escaped punishment this time, it seems likely that a grid penalty is in Verstappen's future. That's because he has already used the maximum of four power units allowed over the course of an F1 season.

One of those engines was damaged at the Canadian Grand Prix and the affected parts were sent to Japan to be analysed by Honda specialists. But it has been reported that is is unlikely that they will be able to salvage the power unit and so the Dutchman has only three left in his pool - all of which have been used to different extents.

And the one he was using in practice in Spielberg on Friday also seems to have a problem. He caused a brief red flag around halfway through the only practice session of the weekend when he pulled over on the start/finish straight having lost power.

He had the awareness to allow the car to roll back down the hill so it could go through an access gate to the pit lane, meaning he could head back out on track once the engine had been looked over. That meant he was able to put in more laps on Sprint weekend with practice time limited.

Red Bull were happy that it was only a "minor issue" this time, but it is hardly encouraging for a driver already staring down the barrel of a grid penalty. That is the punishment that will be handed out if he has to use any more new internal combustion engines between now and the end of the season.

Verstappen was tight lipped when asked about the situation and said: "At the time, it was not looking great, not necessarily the engine itself, but just the situation. I'm just waiting to see what comes out of it. "I am not going to tell you [when a grid penalty is likely to be taken]."

2024-06-28T11:38:14Z dg43tfdfdgfd