Five drivers investigated
Today’s Sprint race at Zandvoort ended with a small mystery – quickly clarified. At the end of the race, in fact, five drivers – Valtteri Bottas, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Yuki Tsunoda, and Lance Stroll – were investigated for an alleged infraction in the pre-race procedures dictated by the instructions given at the start of the weekend by the Race Direction. For a moment, there was even concern that sanctions might be imposed on the drivers in question, but in reality, the ‘case’ deflated almost immediately.
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Too much crowding
The federation itself explained what happened, publishing five identical statements – one for each driver – which shed light on the episode, specifically concerning the alignment of these cars on the starting grid. All five drivers mentioned earlier were investigated because when reaching the starting grid after exiting the pit lane, they had “stopped before reaching Safety Car Line 1 and therefore did not reach the starting grid (as defined in point 24 of the Race Director’s Notes) with their engine running“.
New document: Doc 38 – Infringement – Car 44 – Failure to follow Race Director’s Instructions (Reaching the Grid)
Published on 22.08.26 13:29 CET#F1 #Formula1 #FIA #DutchGP 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/4gxn4WYPi8Read more Russell celebrates the Sprint, but looks ahead to qualifying: “Six drivers who will fight for pole”
— FIA F1 Documents Bot (@fiadocsbot) August 22, 2026
Immediately below, however, the reason for the collective acquittal is also explained: “However – the document signed by the stewards continues – since the back part of the grid was extremely crowded when the car reached the grid, the Stewards believe the driver acted appropriately by stopping the car in a safe place as close as possible to the grid. Therefore, no penalty is applied”. The ‘fault’, therefore, lies in the fact that the Zandvoort track is particularly narrow in the area of the main straight and the pit lane and thus the presence of many people on the grid prevented some cars from safely reaching their grid positions.
