After winning his third World Championship at the Qatar Grand Prix, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen is heading towards the race at Austin with the goal of a triumph yet again. But there is a big conspiracy behind Verstappen’s Sprint race on Saturday, which has infuriated Lewis Hamilton fans who already know that the governing body, which is the FIA, holds a bias against him. Many believe that FIA has some sort of favoritism for the Dutch driver.
Particularly, Max Verstappen attempted to win the pole position on Friday, but his best lap was deemed ineligible owing to Turn 19 track limit breaches.
He certainly would have avoided this setback if the white lines had been changed. The Turn 19 white lines, which had previously led to multiple lap time deletions for drivers exceeding the track restrictions, were noticeably wider during the Sprint Shootout on Saturday.
They painted the white line wider in turn 19 after Max got his time deleted yesterday 😭
— Stefanie (@fastpitstop) October 21, 2023
Fans and spectators did not fail to notice this change and called out the FIA on the matter.
f1 when drivers go over the white line: “you get a penalty, you get a penalty, YOU GET A PENALTY”
f1 when max verstappen goes over the white line: “oh let us just move this out the way for you😅” pic.twitter.com/2YDFHSjcZP
— alanah🏎️ (@lannylehamso) October 21, 2023
While many called it a mere “conspiracy“, the rest of the lot was not pleased by this move. They demanded an explanation behind this or necessary action on the matter.
The line adjustment changed the game for Max Verstappen
The FIA made a calculated approach at the Circuit of The Americas to handle track restriction violations during the US Grand Prix. The FIA acted on Friday when drivers reported issues at Turns 9, 12, and 19.
The solution was to increase the track boundaries by making the white lines on the outer edges of these turns wider. This change has notably changed the race outcome for Max Verstappen as he reached the pole as smoothly as he usually does after qualifying in the sixth spot.
“It makes the Sunday a bit more fun”
Max Verstappen reacts to his costly mistake in qualifying#USGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/wvW4cBhZtQ
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 21, 2023
The white lines at the end of each turn serve as a distinct marker for the track boundaries by FIA standards. A car is deemed to be out of bounds if all four wheels are placed over these lines on the exit curb. By making sure an even playing field for all participants, the changes seek to uphold fair play and uniformity on the track.
In contrast to the last race in the Lusail track at Qatar, when track limits were altered, drivers were given an extended orientation time. The wider white lines, however, gave drivers a more sympathetic margin. For instance, George Russell in SQ3 pushed the envelope at Turn 19 but was spared lap time deletion due to the wider white lines.
However, as far as the race is concerned, the Dutchman is not in the lead and it is the Ferrari driver, Charles Leclerc, who will start the race at the first position on Sunday.