Several drivers have been spared a penalty which would have seen them sent to the back of the grid as the race stewards excercised their right to ignore a regulation under "exceptional circumstances".
Had the rules been followed by the letter, it's likely Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen, Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez would have been forced to start the Hungarian Grand Prix from the back of the grid.
During Q1, the five drivers named above failed to set a time inside 107 per cent of the quickest car, along with those drivers that were eliminated at the end of Q1 – a total of 11 cars – due to the dramatic weather conditions and numerous red flags.
However as Ricciardo, Verstappen, Hulkenberg, Bottas and Perez were quick enough to progress through to Q2, they were able to continue qualifying and secure higher grid positions.
However Article 35.1 of F1's Sporting Regulations states that any driver that fails to complete a lap within 107 per cent of the quickest car during Q1, will be sent to the back of the grid, regardless of where they qualify.
"During Q1, any driver whose best qualifying lap exceeds 107 per cent of the fastest time set during that session, or who fails to set a time, will not be allowed to take part in the race. Under exceptional circumstances however, which may include setting a suitable lap time in a free practice session, the stewards may permit the car to start the race.
"Any driver accepted in this manner will be placed at the back of the starting grid after any other penalties have been applied."
The stewards debated the matter and heard from team representatives and have chosen not to enforce Article 35.1, but instead overrule it with Article 35.2 which states that "the top ten positions will be occupied by the cars which took part in Q3".
A statement read: “Due to the exceptional circumstances experienced during qualifying, that Article 35.2 a) iii should take precedence over Article 35.1 of the sporting regulations".
Therefore the grid remains unchanged. Click here to see the provisional grid for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
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