Published By: Siddarth Sriram
Last Updated: November 25, 2023, 17:55 IST
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Formula One’s governing physique barred overtaking within the pitlane exit throughout the season’s closing qualifying in Abu Dhabi on Saturday after triple world champion Max Verstappen pressured his well beyond rivals in apply.
Race director Niels Wittich issued a change to the occasion notes to ban overtaking within the pit exit highway until a automotive slowed with an apparent drawback.
Verstappen overtook each Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in addition to an Alpine throughout Friday’s second session within the exit tunnel that results in the monitor at Yas Marina.
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“They have to move,” the Red Bull driver defined. “They are all driving slow, and I want to go out because we are limited on time, and they just keep on driving in the middle.
“Then, when I tried to pass, they tried to squeeze me in the wall. So yeah….a bit silly.”
Verstappen and Red Bull gained each championships way back, with the Dutch driver chasing a document-extending nineteenth win of the season on Sunday. Red Bull have gained all however one race thus far in 2023.
George Russell topped the occasions for Mercedes forward of McLaren’s Lando Norris in Saturday’s third and closing apply forward of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
On a sizzling afternoon on the Yas Marina Circuit, Russell’s tempo raised Mercedes’ hopes of clinging on to second place within the constructors’ championship as Ferrari, 4 factors behind, struggled to maintain tempo.
Russell was quickest in a time of 1 minute and 24.418 seconds to beat Norris by 0.095 seconds with Oscar Piastri third within the second McLaren, three-tenths adrift, forward of Williams’ Alex Albon, Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and Verstappen.
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Verstappen was sad along with his automotive set-up all through the session. “The car is bottoming again, jumping,” he grumbled within the closing minutes. “I don’t know what is going on…”
After Friday’s furore over Verstappen’s tried passing transfer on the 2 Mercedes driver within the pit-lane exit tunnel, the race stewards had reacted to protests aired throughout the drivers’ briefing and banned the apply.
Once-dominant Mercedes are going through their first season with out a win since 2011.
(This story has not been edited by News18 workers and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed – Reuters)
