The FIA will disregard the decisions handed out in the Max Verstappen qualifying incidents in Singapore going forward after controversy arose. Verstappen was called for impeding three times in Marina Bay qualifying, once with Logan Sargeant, another by stopping at the end of the pit-exit and holding up the Mercedes drivers and then blocking Yuki Tsunoda in Q2. Tsunoda, who topped Q1 failed to advance through to Q3 after the block exiting Turn 3 forced him to abort the lap before a mistake on his second attempt. In all three cases, Verstappen avoided any major penalty, with only reprimands being used for the pit-exit and Tsunoda cases. However, steward Matteo Perini, who is officiating both race weekends, has suggested that it was the wrong decision not to award Verstappen the widely expected three-place grid penalty, according to Autosport after the usual Friday team managers' meeting. This has been the penalty handed out for impeding in the 2023 season, with Pierre Gasly being hit by two three-place drops at the Spanish Grand Prix. Crucially, however, the FIA confirmed to RacingNews365 that the precedent set by the Verstappen decisions in Singapore will be effectively scrubbed from the history books and not used as a reference for future cases.
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