Max Verstappen receives a warning during Free Practice 3 in Monaco
Max Verstappen received a warning for driving extremely slowly, at up to 20 km/h, at the end of the third free practice session in Monaco.
During the third free practice session of the Monaco Grand Prix, Max Verstappen was warned for driving unnecessarily slowly, a violation of Article 33.4 of the FIA Sporting Regulations.
At 1:39 pm, the Red Bull driver was reported by the stewards for driving at an extremely reduced speed. The race stewards heard the driver, a representative from his team, and reviewed the video evidence, team radio communications, and onboard videos.
The stewards determined that Verstappen was on a flying lap when he had to abort it due to traffic at turn 17. He was then instructed by his team to take the checkered flag. Having seen on the TV screens that there were 20 seconds left in the session, Verstappen moved off the racing line at the exit of turn 19 and stayed on the far-left side, well off the racing line until he crossed the checkered flag.
During this period, he drove at an extremely slow speed, sometimes reaching only 20 km/h . Although this behavior was not dangerous and did not bother the other drivers, it constituted unnecessarily slow driving on the start/finish straight, in violation of article 33.4 of the FIA Sporting Regulations. The stewards decided to issue a warning to Verstappen.
Verstappen explained that he was following his team’s instructions and that he also monitored the remaining time on the television screens, which led him to drive slowly to follow the instructions.
This warning does not result in immediate penalty for Verstappen, but he must remain vigilant to avoid further similar infractions that could lead to more severe sanctions.
