Formula 1 championship leader Max Verstappen faces at least two separate impeding investigations after a Singapore Grand Prix qualifying in which he missed the pole shoot-out for the first time in 2023.
Verstappen and Red Bull had looked off their game all throughout the weekend – while pushing to extend an unprecedented streak of 10 consecutive wins – and were duly underwhelming in qualifying.
The Dutchman was eliminated from Q2 in 11th place, having been dropped out of the top 10 by Liam Lawson, the stand-in driver for Red Bull’s second team AlphaTauri.
But Verstappen’s qualifying wasn’t a disaster just in terms of pace, but operationally as well.
During Q1, he was seen stationary on the exit of pitlane as he seemingly waited for a gap in the traffic, which prompted confusion from the cars behind – which included the two Mercedes W14s and Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari.
He was announced as being under investigation for this and was then also placed under investigation for getting in the way of the AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda in the second segment.
Both of these will be looked at after the session, with summons for Verstappen and Red Bull presumably to follow.
He may also be involved in a separate investigation into excessive queuing at the end of drivers’ outlaps late in Q1, after which the stewards announced they were looking into the conduct of “several drivers”.
Verstappen therefore could yet drop to much lower than 11th on the grid, and his win streak is in massive jeopardy – as is Red Bull’s, given team-mate Sergio Perez spun on his final lap in Q2 and missed Q3 as well.
The Dutchman described his qualifying as “an absolutely shocking experience” once eliminated in Q2.
Keyword: Verstappen faces two investigations after nightmare F1 qualifying