No penalty for Verstappen over red flag incident in Dutch GP practice

Max Verstappen has avoided a penalty following an incident under red flags during Friday practice at the Dutch Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver was seen overtaking Lance Stroll just as the second session was stopped due to Lewis Hamilton coming to a stop in his Mercedes.

However, after a visit to the stewards on Saturday morning, and with the help of telemetry and onboard cameras, it was deemed Verstappen had taken “every reasonable action” to slow down when the red flag signal was shown.

As for the overtake on Stroll, that was considered unavoidable due to the large speed difference, roughly 150kph, between Max on a push lap and Lance on a slow one when the session was stopped.

Furthermore, Aston Martin had informed Stroll to let the Dutchman through on the radio.

This means Verstappen will start exactly where he qualifies later on Saturday.