AlphaTauri not attending Verstappen impeding hearing "a sporting disappointment"

The reigning world champion was summoned to the stewards for three separate cases of potential impeding. 

One of them looked clear cut, with Verstappen getting in the way of AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda.

The stewards ultimately handed Verstappen a reprimand, rather than three-place grid penalty, while Red Bull received a minor fine for failing to communicate with their driver.

They noted: “Just prior to Tsunoda passing Verstappen, Verstappen saw the car behind approaching and moved to the left, however quite late.

“The team admitted that there was poor communication on its part and that it did not advise its driver until Car 22 was alongside.”

More interestingly, the stewards revealed that AlphaTauri failed to send a team representative to the post-qualifying meeting, suggesting they weren’t bothered if the driver of their sister team was penalised.

Writing in his latest post-race F1 column for Sky, Brundle expressed his disappointment over the situation.

“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,” he wrote. 

“That Tsunoda's Alpha Tauri team didn't send a representative to the hearing, albeit as the junior Red Bull team, was a sporting disappointment to me.”