Max Verstappen has been handed his first reprimand of the season for impeding Valtteri Bottas during FP1 at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Bottas was approaching the final chicane at full speed but found Verstappen going slowly in the middle of the two corners. As a result, the Williams had to take evasive action and ran straight on in order to avoid a collision.

With both Bottas and Verstappen summoned to the stewards following the incident in order to explain their actions, Verstappen was then handed a reprimand after FP1.

"The driver slowed unnecessarily in front of car 77 [Bottas]," the stewards decision read.

Verstappen's reprimand is his first of the season. If a driver receives three reprimands in a season they will be handed an automatic ten place grid penalty.

LIVE: Canadian Grand Prix FP2

Silbermann says ... The world's your lobster

Romain Grosjean column: Racing on two wheels

Chris Medland's 2016 Canadian Grand Prix preview

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

Recent Posts

Mekies: ‘We all agree’ F1 must bring back flat-out qualifying

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has made it clear: Formula 1 must rediscover the…

10 hours ago

‘Rusty, me?’: Perez fires back at Andretti’s Cadillac claim

Sergio Perez isn’t taking lightly the suggestion that his return to Formula 1 with Cadillac…

12 hours ago

Formula 1’s heartfelt gift to new dad Fernando Alonso

While Aston Martin’s F1 car is currently giving Fernando Alonso some massive engine vibrations and…

13 hours ago

Hill says unhappy Verstappen ‘should stop and do something else’

For a driver who has spent years bending F1 to his will, Max Verstappen suddenly…

15 hours ago

‘He’s up against it’: Brundle fears Sainz facing career dead end in F1

For Carlos Sainz, what was meant to be a strong second season at Williams is…

16 hours ago

Alonso’s brutal verdict: ‘High-speed corners now charging stations’

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso has delivered another withering verdict on Formula 1’s 2026 regulations…

17 hours ago