FIA Admits It Was Wrong To Not Give Verstappen A Grid Drop In Singapore

Posted on September 22, 2023 | by Charley Williams Oh dear, we can’t imagine this will go down too well with fans! ???? The FIA has admitted to the F1 teams in a meeting with team representatives that the fairly controversial decision to let Max Verstappen and Logan Sargeant off with reprimands for impeding offences in qualifying was a mistake.  Both drivers escaped the usual three-place grid penalty that most fans expected, particularly for Verstappen, who was investigated for three separate instances. Instead, they were reprimanded because their teams admitted fault and told the stewards they failed to inform their drivers of the oncoming car before it was too late. Now as reported by The Race, the FIA has admitted those penalty decisions were wrong, and Verstappen and Sargeant should have received the expected three-place grid drops. Whilst it may not have made much of a difference for Logan (sorry!), the drop would have taken Verstappen from 11th to 14th on the grid and made the climb up to fifth much more difficult. It frustrated fans, as many recalled moments this year where other drivers have been penalised, even though their team took the blame. Charles Leclerc in Monaco springs to mind! Several drivers have spoken about the steward’s decisions, including Pierre Gasly, who, after the Singapore GP, said: “I’ve had tough decisions against me, with a six-place penalty in Barcelona this year for impeding and it was definitely way less than what I’ve seen yesterday.” Lando Norris also believes that penalties should be harder for blocking people, he said in the Japanese GP press conference: “Just no one seems to care enough. And it’s happened a lot this season, it’s happened to me quite a few times, especially with certain teams.” In future, the three-place grid penalty will be applied, with the FIA making it clear that the outcome in Singapore will not set a precedent for any other incidents. This was told to the teams in Friday’s team managers’ meeting in Suzuka, with steward Matteo Perini confirming that the lack of radio warning on approaching cars will not be used as an excuse to escape a grid drop. Soo.. in other words, the majority of fans were right to be frustrated at the inconsistency!