F1 News

FIA confirms Verstappen penalty for not returning P2 Norris

FIA confirms: Verstappen would have been penalised returned P2 to Norris

21 July at 14:49
3
  • Nicole Mulder

The FIA has confirmed that Max Verstappen would have received a penalty for his overtaking action on Lando Norris at the start, in which the Dutchman went off track.

FIA confirms: Verstappen had received penalty

The stewards believe Verstappen gained an advantage by going off the track at the first corner. The Dutchman initially did not want to relinquish the position, but did so when Red Bull Racing informed him of the FIA's investigation.

The stewards' statement read that, according to them, Verstappen took an advantage of Norris while off the track, although the Red Bull driver believed Norris pushed him off the track. "The driver returned the position to car number four following an instruction from the team, therefore no further action will be taken as no permanent advantage was gained," the stewards said.