Max Verstappen verdict delivered after Hungary GP FP2 incident
1st August 2025The FIA Stewards have revealed their verdict on Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen, who was seen throwing a towel out of the car during Free Practice 2 at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Feature image credit: Getty Images // Red Bull Content Pool
At the halfway point of the second practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the incident was noted by race control, who upgraded it to an investigation after the session.
It has been revealed that the Stewards have given a warning to Red Bull Racing for the incident.
In-car video evidence showed that Verstappen had pulled to the right side of the circuit, in between turns three and four, to throw a white towel from his cockpit. The Dutchman had explained that the face towel had slipped to his lap to the side of the seat while he was in the garage.
When Verstappen realised it was there, he tried to remove the object from the car – attracting the attention of the Stewards.
The Stewards determined that the car was released in an unsafe condition as it could have lodged itself in the footwell of the RB21, and could’ve affected the four-time world champion’s ability to control the car.
As they believed the case to be a ‘less severe’ incident, compared to a hard object being lodged in the car, the Stewards opted for a warning. They said:
“The Stewards determine that the towel had the potential to have become lodged in the footwell and to interfere with the driver’s ability to fully control the car and that therefore the car was released in an unsafe condition.
“The stewards consider this case to be distinguishable from a case where a hard (and therefore potentially dangerous) object is left in the cockpit and to be less severe than such a case. Hence a warning to the team is imposed.”
The start of the weekend has not been one the Dutchman would’ve hoped for as he has complained about the grip and the balance of his car. In the practice sessions, the four-time world champion finished ninth and 14th in Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2, respectively.
Free Practice 3 is set to get underway on Saturday at 12:30pm local time, ahead of qualifying.
Read more Formula 1 here:
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- Ferrari confirms Fred Vasseur contract extension
- Hungary Grand Prix: the latest weather forecast for F1 race
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
