F1 qualifying LIVE – Hamilton summoned to stewards in Singapore
Lewis Hamilton reveals the Queen told him off at the Royal lunch
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Lewis Hamilton will be hoping to pip Max Verstappen to an unlikely pole position at this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, which has so far been overshadowed by allegations involving Red Bull and their spending habits over the last two years. The Austrian team have been accused of going over the budget cap by Mercedes and Ferrari but remain adamant that no wrongdoing has taken place ahead of today’s qualifying session at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
It has been claimed that Verstappen may even be stripped of last year’s Drivers’ Championship title if Red Bull are found to have broken the rules by the FIA, who are currently in the final stages of investigating every team’s financial data from last season. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has already insisted in no uncertain terms that the allegations are untrue and hit out at Mercedes and Ferrari for making fabricated claims when quizzed on the situation on Friday.
Hamilton, meanwhile, was summoned to the stewards earlier on Saturday for an alleged breach of the FIA’s Sporting Code relating to the clothing and equipment used by drivers, which includes the wearing of jewellery. The 37-year-old wore earrings at Thursday’s press conference and at the circuit on Friday, but it is not known if they were removed before he got into his car and it remains to be seen whether he will be punished by the FIA before the start of Sunday’s race.
Follow Express Sport‘s live updates below.
KEY EVENTS
What’s going on with Red Bull?
Red Bull remain adamant that no wrongdoing has taken place in spite of the allegations that have been directed against them over the course of this weekend.
The Austrian team have been accused of breaching last year’s budget cap by Mercedes and Ferrari, with some insiders reportedly believing that they exceeded the limit by around £10m.
It remains to be seen how Red Bull would be punished if they are singled out by the FIA over the coming days, with the range of penalties on the table depending on the severity of any financial breaches.
The regulations state that a ‘financial penalty and/or any minor sporting penalties’ may be awarded if a team is found to have exceeded the budget cap by up to five per cent of its value, while stronger punishments may be dished out in the event of breaches greater than five per cent including race bans, points deductions and championship exclusions.
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Trouble for Hamilton?
Lewis Hamilton was summoned to the stewards earlier today for an alleged breach of Appendix L of the FIA’s International Sporting Code, which relates to helmets, flame-resistant clothing, frontal head restraints, safety belts or wearing of jewellery.
The Mercedes driver was spotted wearing earrings on Thursday and Friday but it is not known whether they were removed before he climbed into the cockpit to take part in FP1 and FP2.
He saw the stewards at around 12.45pm BST and will now be awaiting their decision on whether or not to punish him in advance of tomorrow’s Singapore Grand Prix.
Catch up on the full story here.
Good afternoon
Hello and welcome to Express Sport‘s live coverage of qualifying from a damp Marina Bay Street Circuit in the heart of Singapore.
Max Verstappen will be aiming to beat the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to pole position at the end of today’s session, with the Dutchman able to wrap up this year’s Drivers’ Championship title on Sunday if everything falls into place for him.
However, it remains to be seen whether Red Bull’s on-track performances will be affected by the rumours involving a potential breach of last year’s budget cap that were fuelled by Mercedes and Ferrari earlier this week.
Who will manage to secure a front-row grid start in Singapore? We’re just half an hour away from the start of Q1 and will be keeping you updated with the action as it happens.
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