Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and three other drivers were under investigation after an infraction was found before the Sprint of the Dutch Grand Prix.
Read more Max Verstappen detects a reason for hope for Red Bull despite a difficult Sprint
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen can breathe a sigh of relief. The stewards of the Dutch Grand Prix have decided not to sanction the two world champions following an investigation opened before the Sprint held this Saturday at Zandvoort.
The Ferrari and Red Bull drivers were not the only ones involved. Valtteri Bottas, Lance Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda were also under investigation for not respecting the instructions in the notes from race director Rui Marques.
The five drivers were suspected of having breached point 24 of these directives during their journey to the starting grid. After analyzing the circumstances, the stewards confirmed that an infraction had occurred, but judged that it did not warrant any sanction.
A clearly established infraction
The issue specifically concerned the procedure followed by the drivers when arriving on the grid. Hamilton, Verstappen, Bottas, Stroll and Tsunoda all stopped before crossing the line 1 of the safety car.
They therefore technically did not reach their grid positions under their own power, contrary to what the race director’s instructions stipulated.
However, the stewards took into account a particular circumstance: the back of the grid was extremely congested at that time. Under these conditions, continuing to their positions could have further complicated the situation.
Read more George Russell relieved after a potentially tricky Sprint finish at Zandvoort
They thus considered that the drivers acted appropriately by stopping their cars in a safe place, as close as possible to the grid.
No penalty for Hamilton and Verstappen
Despite the formal non-compliance with the instructions, no sanction was therefore imposed. This decision notably allows Hamilton and Verstappen to keep their results obtained during the Sprint.
The Dutchman finished sixth ahead of his Ferrari rival, seventh. Further back, Tsunoda took 13th place in his return to competition with Racing Bulls, while Stroll and Bottas finished 17th and 19th respectively.
Tsunoda was making his return as a regular driver this weekend under particular circumstances. Liam Lawson was indeed called up by Red Bull to replace Isack Hadjar, who was absent at Zandvoort due to his wrist injury.
Hamilton and Verstappen can now focus on the Grand Prix qualifying, without having to deal with any sanction resulting from this incident.
Read more Charles Leclerc explains how he exploited a weakness of Lando Norris to overtake him