Max Verstappen has escaped a penalty following an unusual incident investigated by stewards at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The current Formula 1 champion was summoned to the stewards’ office in Budapest over alleged unsafe release during FP2.
Verstappen was seen discarding a Red Bull towel from his car onto the track while the session was ongoing, reminiscent of an earlier occurrence at the Miami Grand Prix involving Lando Norris and items in his cockpit.
In a similar manner to McLaren and Norris being pardoned previously for clearing out the items, F1 stewards opted to issue a warning to Verstappen and his team.
A statement released stated that after reviewing evidence and hearing from Verstappen and the team, it was determined that the towel, if left unchecked, could have posed a safety risk by potentially interfering with the driver’s control of the car. Consequently, the stewards decided on a warning rather than a more severe penalty.
Verstappen clarified that he disposed of the article as safely as possible to avoid any danger, moving off the racing line to discard it away from the car and track. The stewards acknowledged his explanation.
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