F1 News: Martin Brundle On Max Verstappen Impeding Punishment

Former F1 racing driver and Sky Sports commentator Martin Brundle revealed his disappointment after Max Verstappen was let off with two reprimands and a €5000 fine for impeding not once, not twice, but three times during the Singapore GP qualifying.

Verstappen caused AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda to end his run when the former, not on a push lap, was in the middle of the track, thus causing the Japanese driver to avoid him. While two penalties for impeding were charged for the offences committed on the track, a third one was for impeding in the pit lane when Verstappen blocked the way for the other cars to head onto the track.

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Many are of the opinion that Verstappen was handed over a light punishment, especially after looking at similar examples from the recent past where drivers were handed over a three-place grid drop as a penalty, including Brundle.

Not only that, Brundle was also surprised and disappointed that AlphaTauri didn't send a team representative to the hearing with the stewards. He revealed in his Sky Sports Column:

“Quite how Max Verstappen didn’t also get a penalty for impeding Yuki Tsunoda in qualifying when considering other penalties applied this season was a great surprise to many in the paddock, which I confidently predict includes the team and driver in question.

"That Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri team didn’t send a representative to the hearing, albeit as the junior Red Bull team, was a sporting disappointment to me.”

However, as per Motorsport.com, AlphaTauri chose to not attend the hearing as they didn't receive a formal summons from the FIA, nor did they lodge an official complaint.

Red Bull experienced a much different Grand Prix weekend than the others this season after Verstappen finished 5th while Sergio Perez finished eighth, to which Brundle added:

“The car which had stuck to the road like a gecko wading through superglue this season to date, suddenly looked almost undriveable.

"The team tried to find a car set-up over the bumps and specific circuit challenges with vertical stiffness and ride height changes, but if anything seemed to go the wrong way.”