Max Verstappen of the Netherlands drives the Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 Honda RBPT during the Formula 1 Qatar Airways Qatar Grand Prix 2024 - Source: Getty
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen received a one-place grid penalty along with one penalty point to his FIA Superlicense at the end of the 2024 F1 Qatar Grand Prix qualifying. The Dutch driver surprised everyone by taking the pole position at the end of Q3 as he pipped the Mercedes driver George Russell by a mere 0.055s.
It was a remarkable turnaround for the newly crowned four-time F1 world champion after he finished P8 in the Sprint race earlier on Saturday but made some changes to his RB20 to get his ninth pole position of the season.
However, during his cooldown lap, Max Verstappen had seemingly blocked Russell in the final sector, which pushed the Brit to take avoiding action. The FIA found the Red Bull driver guilty of blocking Russell and going unnecessarily slowly.
