FIA clarifies why Red Bull avoided penalty after Verstappen towel incident
7 days agoThe FIA stewards have clarified why Red Bull avoided punishment after Max Verstappen was seen throwing a small cloth from his cockpit during Hungarian Grand Prix practice. In their official report, the stewards explained the incident, noting: “Shortly after Car 1 was released from its garage, the driver of Car 1 was observed to have thrown a towel out of the cockpit. The driver explained that while in the garage, the face towel had slipped from his lap to the side of the seat and the team was unaware that it remained in the cockpit.”
The stewards said the towel could have interfered with Verstappen’s control, stating: “The Stewards determine that the towel had the potential to have become lodged in the footwell and to interfere with the driver’s ability to fully control the car and that therefore the car was released in an unsafe condition.” However, they distinguished this case from more serious incidents, adding: “The stewards consider this case to be distinguishable from a case where a hard (and therefore potentially dangerous) object is left in the cockpit and to be less severe than such a case. Hence a warning to the team is imposed.”
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