Max Verstappen has been hit with a five-place grid penalty for the Qatar Grand Prix as his title tussle with Lewis Hamilton takes another twist.
The Red Bull driver has been punished for not respecting double waved yellow flags during an incident at the end of qualifying, with team principal Christian Horner calling it a complete 'balls-up'.
The judgement is a significant blow to the driver who was set to start second on the grid for the Qatar GP, with Lewis Hamilton on pole position. Verstappen will now start in seventh place.
Elsewhere Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas has also been handed a three-place grid penalty for the race.
His punishment was for not slowing down under yellow flags as required during qualifying.
The stewards’ outcome is likely to have an impact on the Formula 1 title race after Hamilton qualified on pole following a ‘beautiful’ lap in qualifying.
His Mercedes looked a class above once again, just as it did in Brazil the week before, although tensions between Mercedes and Red Bull are hotting up over where the pace has come from.
Hamilton currently trails Verstappen by 14 points in the drivers’ standings with just three races remaining in a dramatic Formula 1 season.
The momentum certainly seems to have swung back into the Brit’s favour in his quest for a record-breaking eight Formula 1 world championship.
Overtaking is likely to be tricky on the Losail circuit in Qatar, so any chance for Red Bull and Verstappen to limit the damage could be hard to come by.
“It looks like a complete balls-up"
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has been left far from happy following Verstappen's grid penalty.
“We’re really struggling to understand it,” he told Sky Sports F1.
“It looks like a complete balls-up. Unfortunately there’s a yellow flag and Max just didn’t see it.
"I think it’s just a road marshal that has stuck a flag out, he’s not been instructed to by the FIA and they need to have control of their marshals.
"We’re not starting P7 at a track you can’t overtake at, that’s massive for the championship.”
The latest Qatar GP grid in full
- 1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
- 2. Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri)
- 3. Fernando Alonso (Alpine)
- 4. Lando Norris (McLaren)
- 5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
- 6. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes, three-place penalty)
- 7. Max Verstappen (Red Bull, five-place penalty)
- 8. Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri)
- 9. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
- 10. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin)
- 11. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
- 12. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
- 13. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- 14. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)
- 15. George Russell (Williams)
- 16. Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo)
- 17. Nicholas Latifi (Williams)
- 18. Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo)
- 19. Mick Schumacher (Haas)
- 20. Nikita Mazepin (Haas)
