FIA announce Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen penalty verdict at Qatar Grand Prix

A composite image of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen — Photo: © IMAGO

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FIA announce Hamilton and Verstappen penalty verdict at Qatar Grand Prix

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were placed under a bizarre investigation

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Saturday 30 November 2024 16:12 Updated: 12:20

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The FIA have announced their penalty verdict after Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and 15 other drivers were placed under investigation following sprint qualifying at the Qatar Grand Prix.

It was Lando Norris who claimed pole position for Saturday’s sprint race, as McLaren looked to be the quicker car in their battle for the constructors’ title with Ferrari.

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Oscar Piastri set the third fastest time of the session, whereas the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc only managed P4 and P5 respectively.

However, one of the main talking points after the session was not the constructors’ battle, but a bizarre investigation from the FIA that involved 17 drivers on the grid.

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Lando Norris came out on top in sprint qualifying in Qatar

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton investigation verdict announced at Qatar GP

Hamilton, Verstappen and 15 other drivers were placed under investigation after they failed to observe a minimum lap time of 1:40.0 , which was implemented to avoid the field bunching up during sessions.

Alongside the two world champions the drivers also placed under investigation included: Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, George Russell, Kevin Magnussen, Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly, Valtteri Bottas, Alex Albon, Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda, Franco Colapinto, and Zhou Guanyu.

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were both placed under investigation at the Qatar Grand Prix

The FIA have now delivered the final verdict for the alleged infraction, where they declared that no further action would be taken.

"The stewards determined that the drivers took appropriate actions to not impede other drivers, and where required slowed down significantly to allow other drivers to pass while giving those drivers a clear track,” the official FIA statement read.

"The stewards therefore determine that the drivers concerned did not drive “unnecessarily slowly”, and that evidently the reason they were above the maximum time was due to their appropriate actions and take no further action."