F1 News Today: Red Bull and Mercedes handed DELETED LAPS verdict as FIA confirm…Read More
F1 News Today: Red Bull and Mercedes handed DELETED LAPS verdict as FIA confirm Miami starting grid
The FIA have released the list of deleted lap times from the sprint race at the Miami Grand Prix this weekend, with championship contenders Mercedes and Red Bull among the teams affected.
Mercedes Formula 1 team principal Toto Wolff was delighted to see his rookie driver make history on Friday in the sprint qualifying, becoming the youngest ever driver to claim pole position in any format of the sport. Kimi Antonelli’s chances of converting his first pole position into a maiden win went downhill immediately however, dropping down to P4 at Turn 1 after being overtaken by both McLarens and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen.
Having received a report from the race director, the stewards have now determined that four drivers did not use the track at Turns 11, 15 and 17, with the impacted laps being deleted.
Miami misery deepens after chaotic sprint
Verstappen finished the second sprint of the season in last place, P17 on this occasion, having been handed a 10-second penalty for an unsafe release from his Red Bull team which sent him on a collision course into the path of Antonelli.
The 18-year-old appeared to have a bruised ego after the race, dropping out of the points after the incident – although he did end up seventh after a number of penalties were handed out – and now the Mercedes youngster has had a lap time deleted by the stewards. Red Bull were also involved after a disappointing session on both sides of the garage, with Yuki Tsunoda found to have exceeded track limits at Turn 15, with his time of 1:39.140 deleted from the timesheets as a result.
