Red Bull Ring European F3: Max Verstappen penalised for illegal pass

The 16-year-old Dutchman was adjudged by stewards to have made an illegal pass on Antonio Fuoco for fifth as he recovered from a first corner collision with series leader Esteban Ocon.

Verstappen passed Ferrari protege Fuoco on the third lap on the inside of Turn 2, but ran wide into the runoff - and outside track limits - on the exit.

Rene Rosin, team manager of the Prema Powerteam squad that runs Fuoco, immediately asked race director Sven Stoppe about the move, but there was insufficient evidence at the time to make a decision.

Further evidence presented post-race resulted in the stewards ruling that the pass was against the rules, and Verstappen was penalised five seconds.

Before the hearing, Verstappen told AUTOSPORT that he had completed the pass on the inside, and that he ran wide only to avoid a Fuoco attempt to undercut him on the exit.

The decision benefits Jake Dennis and Felix Rosenqvist, who move up to third and fourth positions respectively.

The officials also investigated the first-corner collision between Verstappen and Ocon, but no action was taken.

Another stewards' decision has resulted in Fuoco's team-mate Nicholas Latifi being given a five-place grid penalty for race two, in the wake of his collision at Turn 2 with Jules Szymkowiak.

                                                  
Revised race one results:                              
                                                       
Pos  Driver              Team/Car                      
 1.  Tom Blomqvist       Carlin Dallara-VW             
 2.  Antonio Giovinazzi  Carlin Dallara-VW             
 3.  Jake Dennis         Carlin Dallara-VW             
 4.  Felix Rosenqvist    Mucke Dallara-Merc            
 5.  Max Verstappen      Van Amersfoot Dallara-VW      
 6.  Antonio Fuoco       Prema Dallara-Merc            
 7.  Gustavo Menezes     Van Amersfoot Dallara-VW      
 8.  Dennis van de Laar  Prema Dallara-Merc            
 9.  Jordan King         Carlin Dallara-VW             
10.  Lucas Auer          Mucke Dallara-Merc            
11.  Roy Nissany         Mucke Dallara-Merc            
12.  Sean Gelael         Carlin Dallara-VW             
13.  Esteban Ocon        Prema Dallara-Merc            
14.  Felix Serralles     West-Tec Dallara-Merc         
15.  Tatiana Calderon    Jo Zeller Dallara-Merc        
16.  Hector Hurst        West-Tec Dallara Merc         
17.  Alexander Toril     T-Sport Dallara-NBE           
18.  Sandro Zeller       Jo Zeller Dallara-Merc        
19.  Alfonso Celis Jr    Fortec Dallara-Merc           
20.  John Bryant-Meisner Fortec Dallara-Merc           
21.  Spike Goddard       T-Sport Dallara-NBE           
22.  Michele Beretta     EuroInternational Dallara-Merc
                                                       
Retirements:                                           
                                                       
     Santino Ferrucci    EuroInternational Dallara-Merc
     Ed Jones            Carlin Dallara-VW             
     Nicholas Latifi     Prema Dallara-Merc            
     Jules Szymkowiak    Van Amersfoot Dallara-VW