Overview
- The issue resurfaced after Max Verstappen crashed in Q3 at the Austrian Grand Prix and single‑waved yellow flags allowed George Russell to complete a pole lap while other drivers slowed.
- Carlos Sainz has proposed a rule that any driver who generates a yellow or red flag in qualifying would receive a three‑place grid drop to remove the incentive to force or benefit from session-stopping incidents.
- Sainz told media he intends to raise the idea with the Grand Prix Drivers' Association but the proposal has not been formally discussed or adopted by the GPDA or the FIA.
- Some drivers, including Charles Leclerc, say a blanket season‑long penalty risks unfairly punishing genuine accidents and that solutions might be better targeted to specific tracks or contexts.
- Officials face practical challenges because single‑ and double‑waved yellows carry different on‑track obligations and stewards must judge intent in real time, so any change would need clear definitions to avoid penalising mechanical failures.