Over three-and-a-half hours after today's Austrian Grand Prix ended, the Spielberg stewards decided that no further action was required in terms of Max Verstappen's race-winning move on Charles Leclerc.

"Verstappen sought to overtake Leclerc at Turn 3 on lap 69 by out-braking him," they said, having spoken to both drivers and their team representatives and studied the various video evidence.

"When doing so, Verstappen was alongside Leclerc on the entry of the corner and was in full control of the car while attempting the overtaking move on the inside.

"However, both Verstappen and Leclerc proceeded to negotiate the corner alongside each other but there was clearly insufficient space for both cars to do so.

"Shortly after the late apex, while exiting the corner, there was contact between the two cars. In the totality of the circumstances, we did not consider that either driver was wholly or predominantly to blame for the incident.

"We consider that this is a racing incident."

Speaking in the moments after the race, Verstappen said: "It's hard racing, otherwise we have to stay at home.

"If these things are not allowed in racing, then what's the point of being in Formula 1?"

"I'll let the stewards decide," said Leclerc. "It was pretty clear in the car, I don't know how it looked from the outside.

"I was on the outside just like the lap before," he added. "The lap before was completely fine, he left the space, a car width on the exit of the corner, but he didn't on the other lap. I had to go wide and then I didn't have any chance to come back.

"We'll see what the decision is."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Editor, 01/07/2019 11:58

""Very observent, But wrong, Problem is inconsistent stewarts"

Indeed, when all else fails, blame the Jocks"

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2. Posted by jcr, 01/07/2019 11:31

"Very observent, But wrong, Problem is inconsistent stewarts"

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3. Posted by Vinodh Moodley, 01/07/2019 8:08

"@jcr Max cried immediately that LeClerc turned into him. Vettel has screamed on the radio many, many times about what he considered bad driving from other drivers. Strange how you have a problem with Hamilton only."

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4. Posted by Pavlo, 01/07/2019 7:49

"@USA1 - no, the lap before Charles managed to defend. Defending is also part of the racing, isn’t it?
I agree it’s racing. But the problem is that it was a penalty last races, and will probably be the next race. Depending on who cries louder or has more fans, or what?"

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5. Posted by Greg, 01/07/2019 7:08

"@USA1 i agree. Thats why it was a racing incident. But the same could apply to the incident last week. Purely racing. These days if the drivers get a bump or balked some cry foul. I know there are also the safety issues but just let them race. They dont want to hurt themselves either. There is nothing wrong with close racing and some bumps are to be expected. But the cars are so flimsy with all the add ons of winglets etc
Any bump sends pieces flying and serious damage and osts to the cars. As has been often said in these forums maybe a simpler car is the answer. Who knows"

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6. Posted by USA1, 01/07/2019 4:32

"This is F1 this is racing, Max was clearly faster and made a racing pass on Leclerc, this is exactly what the Stewards need to allow every race, so we can get some real racing back again!"

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7. Posted by alvarezh3, 01/07/2019 3:49

"Not only is this an issue of Verstappen winning, the result also gave less points to Ferrari in it's battle against Mercedes. Bet Wolff won't be easily giving out his true opinion on the outcome as it clearly suits him."

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8. Posted by phantom, 30/06/2019 20:48

"This was a 'racing incident' but last week wasn't? I'm glad I didn't get up at 5:30 to watch this race. Or perhaps they were afraid of violence because of the Orange Crowd? Verstappen's front tires 'twitched' to the left, it was obvious. Again, F1 shots itself in the head."

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9. Posted by Greg, 30/06/2019 20:37

"For me it was both a good decision in that it was classed a racing incident, but it was also a bad decison because basically it was the same as last weekend which should have also been a 'racing incident' . There is no real consistency in the decison making of the stewards. They need to get a one of team of stewards who sit, work out their basic modus operandus and stick to it. Changing stewards for every race leaves the interpretation open to different views."

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10. Posted by Burton, 30/06/2019 20:19

"So now here we are. Driving like a bonehead is the new racing incident and the norm, but having understeer on cold tyres on Lap 1 or going on the grass and not being able to catch the car gets you a penalty (Kvyat/Vettel). F1 is now permanently living in Opposite Day."

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11. Posted by jcr, 30/06/2019 20:12

"Lewis was on the radio whingieing almost immediately, but he is more convincing than Leclerc"

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12. Posted by Pavlo, 30/06/2019 20:03

"I don’t remember Lewis crying, and it’s in any case not his fault.
But I also heard Toto Wolff saying the situation is same as in Canada."

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13. Posted by jcr, 30/06/2019 19:54

"Obviously Leclerc did"nt cry as well as Hamilton !!!"

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14. Posted by Pavlo, 30/06/2019 19:47

"Disagree - wrong decision. It may be good for the sport, though, but still wrong as a decision.
Such episodes were punished with penalties in the previous races. Also the explanation of stewards is just wrong - we saw it on the previous lap.
I would love to see the F1 where result stays same after the finish. But not when it applies only to Max."

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15. Posted by Anthony, 30/06/2019 19:28

"Good decision. "

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Verstappen move deemed a "racing incident"

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