Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson received individual one-place grid drops after the race stewards reviewed an on-track incident. The drivers clashed during a practice session while preparing for subsequent laps.
Stewards Review and Decision
Following the session, the stewards analyzed video footage and telemetry data before holding discussions with both Verstappen and Lawson. The official decision document detailed the events leading up to the collision on the approach to Turn 12, noting that Car 3 driven by Verstappen was on a preparation lap while Car 30 driven by Lawson was completing a cool down lap ahead of another push lap.
According to the stewards’ decision document, the drivers “behaved in a manner that was considered unacceptable by the stewards particularly in view of the warning that had been given at the Team Managers meeting earlier this day.” Furthermore, both drivers admitted the moves were unnecessary and “clumsy.”
Escalation of Penalties
The stewards highlighted that similar incidents involving driver actions during Free Practice had occurred earlier in the year. Consequently, they decided to escalate the penalty beyond a formal warning to a grid position penalty, noting the prior briefing at the Team Managers meeting and maintaining consistency with previous years’ rulings regarding contact between cars in practice sessions.
