F1 stewards penalty decision explained as Max Verstappen denied Italian GP pole

02 September 2023 , 16:20

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Carlos Sainz beat Max Verstappen to pole at Monza (Image: AP)

Frederic Vasseur has explained why Carlos Sainz was not stripped of pole position despite being accused of ignoring the race director's instructions.

The Spaniard went quickest in Q3 to send the Monza crowd into hysterics. Even Max Verstappen could not match the time he set, while Ferrari also had their other driver in the top three as Charles Leclerc found strong one-lap pace.

There was a cloud hanging over the Italian team. Both drivers were accused of ignoring the minimum lap time imposed prior to the session in a bid to avoid congestion at the final corner.

Both Leclerc and Sainz were accused of going too slow in Q1. But immediately after qualifying it was decided that no further investigation into the matter was necessary.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the session, Ferrari team principal Vasseur explained why. "No further action, it's done," said the Frenchman. "By regulation, you are allowed to exceed [the minimum lap time] if you slow down to let someone go [first], and that's what happened."

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Sainz added more detail as he too was questioned on the matter in the post-session press conference. "I had to slow down so much to not impede other cars that were on fastest laps, so it was almost impossible to respect the delta that the race director gave us," he explained.

"If I would have respected it, I would have impeded my competitors, so I just played it safe and preferred not to impede anyone. Even if I was one or two seconds off the delta, I think that's safer than impeding someone."

Having looked quick in practice, there was always a decent chance that Ferrari might upset Verstappen in qualifying. The question remains whether they will be able to match the pace of the Red Bull over the course of Sunday's Grand Prix.

Vasseur knows it will be difficult, but has some hope of a Monza miracle. He added: "It's difficult to predict. The top three is within one tenth and P4 is not far away. Race pace was okay on Friday but the long stint was short because there was a red flag. But, so far, so good.

"We'll see after lap one where we are and where we stand and see what we can do. We can be quite confident after Friday. It's always an advantage to have two cars in the top three, for the strategy, so you can play a little bit. But I think it will be much more a matter of pace than just strategy."

Daniel Moxon