Verstappen stripped of Mexico pole

MEXICO CITY: Max Verstappen was given a three-place grid penalty and stripped of pole position at the Mexican Grand Prix late Saturday after race stewards ruled he failed to slow for a yellow flag following a dramatic crash which saw Valtteri Bottas bury his Mercedes into a trackside barrier.

The Red Bull driver’s penalty means that Charles Leclerc of Ferrari was promoted to pole position ahead of team-mate Sebastian Vettel with world champion-elect Lewis Hamilton moved up to third from fourth.

The Dutchman, who will start on the second row alongside Hamilton, was also handed two penalty points on his licence after dismissing concerns for the sport’s regulations during a news conference.

Verstappen was on provisional pole when Bottas crashed heavily in his Mercedes at the final corner of his last run in Q3. He had no need to improve his lap time, as his rivals had failed to beat his first attempt, but sped on.

He told reporters that he saw Bottas’s crashed car at the final corner and did not back off, thus setting a new record fastest lap as he improved. Verstappen, the author of his own downfall, said: “I think we know what we are doing otherwise we wouldn’t be driving an F1 car.

“It’s qualifying and you go for it. If they want to delete the lap, then delete the lap.” The stewards said Verstappen had “admitted that he was aware that car 77 (Bottas) crashed and did see the car on the left hand side of the track, but was not aware of the waved yellow flag.”

“He admitted not reducing his speed in the yellow sector,” the stewards added. “Taking into account all the available evidence and the statement from the driver the stewards impose a drop of three grid positions and two penalty points.”

Red Bull boss Christian Horner said it was “a great shame” that the flamboyant Verstappen had been penalised. “Max put in a phenomenal performance throughout qualifying. He was quickest in Q1, second quickest in Q2 and quickest in Q3 to achieve his second pole position of the season,” said Horner.

“It is a great shame that Max has lost pole position.” Verstappen’s demotion and Bottas’s crash boosted Hamilton’s hopes of clinching his sixth drivers’ world title by outscoring his Mercedes team-mate by 14 points.