Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen have been handed grid-place penalties ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver was handed a three-place penalty for failing to slow under single waved yellow flags during Saturday’s qualifying session at the Losail International Circuit.
According to the stewards, “he did not notice the yellow flag displayed at Flag Point 16.6 and… did not reduce speed as required in the yellow flag area.”
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen will endure a five-place grid drop after he failed to slow for double waved yellow flags during qualifying.
The steward’s statement said: “notwithstanding the fact the team argued that the turning off of the yellow sector on the FIA marshalling system some 34 seconds prior to the driver reaching the yellow flag, signified that it was ‘play on’, it was the driver’s responsibility to take the appropriate action when entering what was a double yellow flag area.
“The driver acknowledged his awareness of the presence of Car 10 on the right side of the track. Having seen a disabled car, it is reasonable to expect, as was the case of the driver of Car 55 [Carlos Sainz], that there was a potential danger and that a yellow flag situation probably existed and therefore to take the appropriate action (i.e. to reduce speed).”
Verstappen will take off from P7 this afternoon, with Bottas in P5 at lights out.
