Verstappen passed the time watching the Premier League: I’ll never get those 12 hours back
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Max Verstappen had just one obligation on Saturday. To avoid having to formally ask race control for permission to start, he needed to complete at least one timed lap in qualifying. From the Dutch champion’s perspective, Saturday was therefore a rather pointless day, which also lasted longer than expected.
The 107 per cent rule remains in the regulations, although it no longer serves any real purpose. In the days when gaps between teams were measured in seconds rather than tenths, it made sense to prevent excessively slow cars from starting.
Today, the fastest time in Q1 is the benchmark for this rule. If anyone is more than seven per cent slower or fails to set a lap time, the regulations state that they should not be allowed to start. The FIA does, however, have the power to grant an exemption. In the modern era, no applicant has been refused one, but for a team it is unnecessary bureaucracy that is best avoided. For a driver more than seven per cent off the pace to be allowed to start, they must apply for this exemption. The stewards assess the request on the basis of lap times set in practice.
Max Verstappen therefore took part in Q1 and, knowing he would start from the back of the grid on Sunday, sat out the rest of qualifying. But he had a very long wait before completing his mandatory lap. “I was watching football. Premier League.”
Viaplay’s reporters asked him exactly what he had been watching during the red flag. “A lot of different games, but Nottingham Forest-Manchester City was the last one before I got into the car. It was 3-1, I actually saw a great goal just before I got back in!”
Some drivers chatted to their engineers and examined their car set-ups, others discussed the weather, and several even remained in their cockpits. Verstappen was one of the few drivers who genuinely put their feet up. “But I’m starting last anyway, so it doesn’t matter. I’ve lost 12 hours of my life today that I’ll never get back.”
