Stewards explain: 'Verstappen and Stroll both speak of misunderstanding'
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- GPblog.com
The stewards came to the conclusion on Friday evening that neither Max Verstappen or Lance Stroll would pick up a penalty for the Portuguese Grand Prix. The two Formula 1 drivers crashed into each other in the second free practice session, but the stewards were of the opinion that nobody was at fault for the crash.
In a statement the stewards said: "Stroll was on a fast lap and was allowed to pass by Verstappen on the lap preceding the incident. Given the information from his team and usual practice, Verstappen assumed that Stroll would back off for the next lap and moved to overtake along the main straight. However, Stroll was instructed by his team to go for a second flying lap."
"Stroll assumed that Verstappen would have backed off to gain a gap between them, also in line with usual practice, and so was not looking for the overtaking Verstappen."
No further action needed
"The drivers agreed in the hearing that the incident was the result of a misunderstanding between them and that with hindsight, both could have contributed to avoid the incident. The Stewards, therefore, find that neither driver was wholly or predominantly at fault and take no further action."