Max Verstappen can breathe a sigh of relief after visiting the stewards at Zandvoort, having been cleared of any wrongdoing following an investigation into overtaking under a red flag in second practice. Verstappen was summoned before the stewards after overtaking Aston Martin's Lance Stroll just as the red flags were shown to cover Lewis Hamilton's stopped Mercedes, as the reigning World Champion pulled over with an engine issue. With overtaking under the red flags a breach of the Sporting Regulations, Verstappen visited the stewards on Saturday morning. After a brief meeting, Red Bull have confirmed to RacingNews365.com that the stewards have opted against giving the Red Bull driver a penalty. The official verdict from the stewards explained that after hearing from Verstappen, and Red Bull's team representative, Verstappen took "every reasonable action" to obey the red flags. "The Stewards have reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, telemetry, team radio and in-car and CCTV video," read the stewards' statement. "The Race Management System indicates that the red flag and red lights were initiated at 15:10:12. When VER passed Light Panel 14 (which is prior to the point of the overtake) it was not illuminated. "As VER approached the rear of the car (within a few metres) of STR, the red light on VER's steering wheel activated. At this point VER's speed was 260 km/h and STR's was 110km/h, a delta of 150 km/h. At this point, telemetry shows that VER immediately lifted and braked. Because of the speed delta, VER's momentum carried him past STR. "Simultaneously the Light Panel 15 (showing red) became visible to VER. At approximately 15:10:17 the team radioed VER 'Red Flag'. "It is our conclusion that the driver of Car 33 took every reasonable action to comply with the regulations in that he immediately reduced speed in a safe manner at the earliest opportunity upon the first indication of the red flag, even before a red flag or red light panel was visible to him, and that this satisfies the requirements of the Code (Art 2.5.4.1 b of Appendix H of the International Sporting Code)."
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