Max Verstappen kept his pole position for the Sprint at the Singapore Grand Prix after the stewards cleared him of a yellow flag infringement during SQ1. The Red Bull driver had initially faced uncertainty over his grid spot after being summoned to the stewards following the session.
The trouble started when Cadillac driver Sergio Perez hit the barriers, bringing out single yellow flags in SQ1. While exiting Turn 7 on a push lap, Verstappen overtook the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton, prompting Hamilton to immediately radio his team to report that he had been passed under yellow flags. Verstappen himself addressed the situation on track, noting over the radio that he would let Hamilton by again just to be safe, though he believed he had made the move before the yellow.
According to the official stewards' document, Hamilton had slowed and moved to the right off the racing line after being warned of Verstappen's approach. Verstappen overtook Hamilton prior to Turn 8 while both machines were still in the yellow flag sector, before immediately abandoning his push lap. Telemetry data confirmed Verstappen's explanation that he had been on the throttle exiting Turn 7 before spotting the yellow flag and lifting. Within approximately 40 metres of entering the sector, he had fully lifted off the throttle, while Hamilton was braking and had reduced his speed to less than 60km/h at the point of the overtake.
Ultimately, the stewards determined that Verstappen had indeed breached the yellow flag regulation by making the pass. However, they concluded that the overtake was an unfortunate consequence of a significant closing speed differential between the two cars. Verstappen's speed at the overtake point was some 70km/h less than his speed on another push lap in the same session.
The Red Bull driver explained to the stewards that avoiding the overtake entirely would have required him to brake very heavily, which he believed could have created an unsafe situation. Satisfied that Verstappen had reacted appropriately by lifting off the throttle and reducing his speed, the stewards decided to impose no penalty.
This ruling means Verstappen retains his pole position for Saturday's Sprint at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. He will line up at the front of the grid ahead of Mercedes driver George Russell and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
