Stewards deliver verdict after Verstappen summoned

Max Verstappen has avoided a grid penalty following a stewards' investigation after qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix.

The three-time F1 champion described himself and his RB20 as "on fire" at the Red Bull Ring after delivering a stunning performance that saw him finish four-tenths of a second faster than his nearest rival in McLaren's Lando Norris.

Verstappen, however, found himself summoned for 'driving unnecessarily slowly' at the pit lane exit during Q3.

But after conferring with the stewards, Verstappen has retained his pole position for Sunday's race.

A statement from the stewards reads: “Despite the fact that Car 1 exited the pits slowly and made up a gap of approx. 14 seconds to the car in front of him, the Stewards determine that in this case no other car was directly affected by this in their attempts to set a lap time. 

“In addition to that, it is noted that other cars were making similar gaps on track at this point in time. 

“However, as this type of incident could in different circumstances potentially prevent other drivers from setting a lap time at the end of a session, the Stewards recommend that consideration be given to setting a maximum gap time during qualifying.”