Red Bull issue 'virtually impossible' defence for Max Verstappen

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has mounted a strong defence of Max Verstappen after the four-time F1 champion was summoned to the stewards following sprint qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix.

Verstappen topped SQ1, edging out George Russell and Charles Leclerc, but the session was overshadowed by an investigation into an overtake on Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton between Turns 7 and 8.

The yellow flags had been triggered after Sergio Perez crashed his Cadillac at Turn 5, scattering debris across the Marina Bay Street Circuit and ultimately bringing out a red flag.

Verstappen is understood to have told his team over the radio that he had passed Hamilton before entering the yellow-flag zone, and subsequently let the Ferrari driver back through to avoid a breach.

Speaking after the session, Mekies argued that the circumstances made the move unavoidable, pointing to the speed differential between the two cars.

"What I saw live was that Lewis was effectively on a cooldown lap, travelling at 50 kph or something, so it was virtually impossible for Max to stop by the time he saw the yellow and get onto Lewis at 50 kph," said Mekies, speaking to F1TV.

"He slowed down massively. I think he slowed down more than one second, which is huge for a single yellow.

"Realistically, he could not have been in a position to react fast enough to stop behind Lewis, let alone be safe."

Verstappen eventually went on to claim pole position for Saturday's sprint ahead of Mercedes' Russell and Leclerc in his Ferrari.

Update: The stewards opted not to penalise Verstappen. You can read their decision here