Max Verstappen has blasted F1 stewards again after a red flag eliminated the championship leader from qualifying for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Qualifying was delayed from Saturday evening to Sunday morning thanks to torrential rain with the conditions in Brazil still very wet and tricky.
At the end of the second session as drivers were setting their final times, Lance Stroll spun his Aston Martin into the barriers.
40 seconds later, the red flag was finally brought out to stop the session with Stroll’s stricken car still in a precarious position, but in that time several drivers managed to complete their laps and knock Verstappen into the drop zone.
The Red Bull driver was unable to finish his lap before the red fag was waved however and therefore could not improve his time, leaving him in 12th place.
Thanks to an engine change, the Dutchman will take a grid penalty and will start the race, which will begin at 3:30pm UK time, in 17th place.
Meanwhile, championship rival Lando Norris will start on pole, as he looks to close the 44 point gap between them.
Verstappen was understandably furious and was seen punching his steering wheel after learning he had been knocked out.
The Dutchman then made his feelings well known in an interview with Sky Sports, saying: ‘The car hits the wall, it needs to be a straight red.
‘I don’t understand why it needs to take 30-40 seconds for a red flag to come out. It’s just bulls**t.
‘Honestly, I let it go. It’s so stupid anyway to talk about. It’s ridiculous.’
Furthering Verstappen’s frustration, there were two more red flags before qualifying finished after Fernando Alonso in the other Aston Martin and Williams’ Alex Albon crashed.
On both occasions the red was brought out without delay though this was because the crashes were heavier and the medical car had to be deployed instantly.
It is thought that Stroll’s red was delayed as the stewards were waiting to see if the Canadian could continue driving his car.
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