Verstappen at risk of Dutch GP penalty over red flag infringement

Max Verstappen could face a penalty for a red flag infringement during Friday practice at the Dutch Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver clearly overtook Lance Stroll on the run between Turns 10 and 11 after the session had been stopped due to Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes coming to a halt.

As a result, Verstappen will meet with the stewards on Saturday morning at Zandvoort, and a grid penalty is very much a possibility as race officials often frown upon breaking red flag rules much more.

If that is the case, the Dutchman’s bid to win the first race in the Netherlands since 1985 would be very much compromised after Max was only fifth fastest in practice, albeit after being hampered by a second red flag.

And with overtaking also expected to be particularly difficult on the short, narrow track, any chance of a race-winning recovery from around P10 would be low.

“Max, as soon as there was a red flag, he backed right out of it,” Red Bull boss Christian Horner told Sky Sports on the incident.

“I can only think he [Stroll] was on a slow lap anyway. I was watching the data and he was completely out of it as soon as he got the message about the red flag.”