Max Verstappen Hit With Fine After FP1 Incident Ahead Of Australian Grand Prix
Max Verstappen has been handed a fine for speeding in the pitlane during Free Practice 1 ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.
Despite the minor setback, Verstappen was on top of his game, leading the opening session of the weekend. In a session that was halted twice by red flags, the Dutchman clocked a time of 1:18.790 seconds, 0.433 seconds ahead of his Mercedes rival, Lewis Hamilton. And the two-time champion's teammate, Sergio Perez, was left trailing in the dust, 0.503 seconds behind.
However, Verstappen's need for speed got the better of him resulting in a €700 fine. The FIA decision document stated that:
"Car 1 exceeded the pit lane speed limit which is set at 80 km/h for this event by 6.4km/h."
Fortunately, the Red Bull driver can breathe a sigh of relief as no penalty points have been added to his license. This means that he is still 10 points clear of the threshold for a race ban. However, two points currently sit on his license, which will expire on November 13 this year. They were awarded after the Dutchman was deemed to have caused a collision at the São Paulo Grand Prix with seven-time champion Hamilton.
Free Practice 2 is already underway ahead of the Australian Grand Prix. The last free practice session and qualifying will take place tomorrow, followed by the third grand prix of the season on Sunday.
Here's how to watch all of the action across the weekend in Melbourne.