Max Verstappen Warned by F1 Stewards After Trackside Incident with Towel
Max Verstappen and Red Bull Receive Warning After Towel Incident at Hungarian Grand Prix
Budapest, Hungary — Max Verstappen and his Red Bull team found themselves in hot water with Formula 1 stewards at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Friday, following an unusual incident during second practice. The reigning world champion was called to explain his decision to discard a face towel from the cockpit of his car while driving on track.
The incident occurred midway through the second practice session, when Verstappen was spotted throwing a white towel out of his car on the stretch between Turn 3 and Turn 4. The towel remained on the side of the circuit until the session concluded. After practice, Verstappen and a team representative were summoned to the stewards to address the unconventional behavior. Following their meeting, the stewards issued Red Bull a formal warning for allowing the car to leave the garage in an unsafe condition.
Stewards Issue Formal Statement
The stewards detailed the incident in an official report:
"Shortly after Car 1 [Verstappen] was released from its garage, the driver of Car 1 was observed to have thrown a towel out of the cockpit. The driver explained that while in the garage, the face towel had slipped from his lap to the side of the seat and the team was unaware that it remained in the cockpit. When the driver realised it was there, he moved to the far right of the track and attempted to throw it as far away from the car and the track as possible."
"The stewards determine that the towel had the potential to have become lodged in the footwell and to interfere with the driver's ability to fully control the car and that therefore the car was released in an unsafe condition. The stewards consider this case to be distinguishable from a case where a hard (and therefore potentially dangerous) object is left in the cockpit and to be less severe than such a case. Hence a warning to the team is imposed."
Verstappen Offers His Perspective
Speaking to the media afterward, Verstappen explained the reasoning behind his actions:
"It's just a towel that you normally wipe your face with when you come back in [to the pits], and it was still in the car when I went out. Instead of it maybe potentially flying between my feet, which of course is the dangerous part, I drove off line and got rid of it in the safest way possible. So I think the stewards understand that."
Struggles in Friday Practice
Verstappen’s day on track didn’t improve after the towel incident, as the Dutchman finished a disappointing 14th in practice, well off the pace he typically sets. He cited difficulties with his car’s balance and grip throughout the session.
"Today was very tough — just a really low-grip feeling," Verstappen said. "Not really a balance in the car, so it's difficult to say what was wrong because nothing really worked. We have to investigate overnight because so far this hasn't really been our weekend."
Looking Ahead for Red Bull
As practice concludes and teams begin their preparations for qualifying, Red Bull will need to address both the car’s performance issues and the unusual warning from the stewards as they aim to maintain their championship dominance.
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