Verstappen sees Hamilton unsanctioned: "Leave it to the teams"

During the Qatar GP weekend, Max Verstappen received a five-place grid penalty for ignoring a double yellow flag. Lewis Hamilton did similar during qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, but the seven-time world champion was not penalised. Verstappen was asked for his opinion in the press conference.

According to the stewards, the double yellow was accidentally activated by the FIA Marshalling System. The double yellow flag situation lasted less than one second when it was turned off. Hamilton would not have noticed and the stewards were fine with that explanation.

Verstappen on Hamilton's lack of penalty

Helmut Marko was furious about this, although Red Bull Racing said they would not protest against the decision. Red Bull Racing told GPblog that they will not protest against the decision of the stewards. Verstappen doesn't want to waste too many words on the situation. "It is what it is. I leave it to the teams. I'm disappointed in myself now, but I feel the car is good", he said.

Speaking to NOS, Verstappen then reiterated how much he is enjoying the current battle with Hamilton for the championship. "It's a beautiful title fight. It's nice for everyone that it's not predictable anymore how the Saturdays and Sundays go." The current World Championship leader will want to forget Saturday quickly, but tomorrow (Sunday) there is already a chance for revenge. The points are only distributed during the race.