Marko furious at FIA: "They blame their incompetence on the driver"

Max Verstappen had to start the Qatar Grand Prix at a disadvantage, as the stewards decided to give the Dutchman a five-place grid penalty for ignoring a double yellow flag in qualifying. Red Bull Racing chief Helmut Marko doesn't have a good word to say about it.

The Dutchman quickly dealt with the penalty at the start and gained three places. A few laps later he had moved up to second place behind Lewis Hamilton, his original starting position. Before the race Red Bull expressed their displeasure with the penalty and the procedures of the FIA.

The marshall waving double yellow would have caused confusion, reported Christian Horner. Marko agreed with the Red Bull team boss's words, but as usual was a little more outspoken. "It's ridiculous. The FIA can't organise a decent marshalling system and they shift their incompetence onto the driver. Unbelievable," roared the Austrian in conversation with DAZN.

The Red Bull advisor will now be able to breathe a sigh of relief. He would have preferred Verstappen to have been in the lead, but that doesn't seem to be an option at the moment. A second place therefore seems to be the maximum the Dutchman can achieve, which will minimise the damage to the championship.