- A Lance Stroll clash in Sao Paulo was followed by a red flag, after a short delay
- Verstappen was unable to complete another lap in Q2 leaving him in 12th
- An existing five-position penalty meant he ended up well down the grid in Brazil
Max Verstappen has been left fuming at a late red flag call during qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix, as the Red Bull driver dropped to a disappointing 17th on the grid.
In the heavy rain of Sao Paulo, Lance Stroll crashed into a wall as he attempted a turn during Q2 and a red flag was shown, albeit after a short delay as FIA race director Niels Wittich attempted to let those doing a flying lap finish their laps.
The stoppage meant that Verstappen was unable to complete another lap and, with the Dutchman stranded in 12th in that round, he was knocked out of qualifying as only the top 10 make it through to Q3.
Add on his five-place penalty for Red Bull’s decision to change his power unit ahead of the race, and the reigning champion was left in 17th place, severely damaging his prospects for the grand prix.
Unhappy with Wittich’s call, Verstappen launched into a foul-mouthed rant on the radio to voice his discontent.
He said: ‘A car hits the wall and it needs to be straight red [flag]. I do not understand why it needs to take 30 or 40 seconds for a red flag to come out, it is just bulls***.
‘Honestly, I will let it go. It is so stupid anyway to talk about, it is ridiculous.’
The red flag was the third of a hectic session after Carlos Sainz also suffered a crash earlier in Q2.
To make matters worse for Verstappen, his title rival Lando Norris picked up pole position ahead of this afternoon’s race, with Mercedes’s George Russell in second and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda a place behind.
Red Bull chief Christian Horner shared in his driver’s anger at the decision today as tempers flared in Brazil.
‘We don’t understand why it took so long for the red flag to come out,’ he said.
‘It’s the second day in a row that we’ve had very late calls whether it was the VSC yesterday or the red flag today. The other red flags were all instantaneous.’
He added: ‘It’s hugely frustrating. A session like that there is a lot going on. It was a huge accident, in one of the most dangerous corners here. It took 40 seconds for the Red Flag to come out.
‘When there is an accident like that it should be an immediate Red Flag, in the most dangerous corner. And I know Crofty [David Croft] was endorsing the completion of the laps.
‘We have fallen on the wrong side of it. So, it’s tough luck. Unfortunately, we got compromised on the first lap with Esteban [Ocon] overtaking into the first corner. It has been one of those mornings for us.’
The qualifying round was delayed from yesterday after torrential rain hit Sao Paulo.
As the F1 season reaches its climax, the 16-place gap between Verstappen and Norris on the grid today could prove vital, with the Brit closing the gap on the Red Bull driver to just 47 points in Mexico last week.
