Hulkenberg escapes penalty for alleged Verstappen block

Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg has escaped a penalty having been found not guilty of impeding Max Verstappen in second practice for the Dutch Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver was forced to evade the German on entry to the penultimate corner at Zandvoort as traffic played a part early on in the session.

Verstappen cut a frustrated figure over team radio as he was forced to abort his effort, albeit on the Medium tyres, with Hulkenberg summoned for the near-miss.

But in clearing him, a stewards' report read: "The drivers agreed that Hulkenberg was affected by the cars in front of him and slowed, thereby impeding Verstappen.

"However, as this was FP2, the drivers agreed that it did not rise to the standard of 'Unnecessarily Impeding'.

"Further, as the closing speeds at this location are significant, the incident looked more dramatic than what it was, but the drivers agreed that it was not particularly dangerous."