"You shouldn't be in the fast lane" - F1 pundit on Max Verstappen and George Russell's pit lane incident in the 2023 F1 Mexican GP

Former F1 world champion Jenson Button has said that Max Verstappen and George Russell shouldn't have been impeding in the fast lane during the 2023 Mexican GP qualifying session.

The three-time world champion Verstappen and Mercedes driver Russell were noted by the stewards for pit lane infringements as they possibly impeded other cars during the session.

Just like the other drivers, the pair were trying to make a gap before leaving the pit lane to get a cleaner run but were found waiting for slightly more time than the drivers before them. While commenting on the incident on Sky Sports, Jenson Button remarked:

"If there's not a clear rule, they're going to push it. They need to say: 'you cannot stop in the pit lane, you cannot go slower than the speed limit. It is what it is, get out on track, and let's go qualifying.'"

He added:

"It's mad that you are able to do that and stop everyone behind you. If you stop, you should pull to the right-hand side, you shouldn't be in the fast lane."

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Max Verstappen gives his take on his investigation for pit lane infringement

Max Verstappen has said that he did not expect any penalty for his pit lane investigation by the stewards, claiming that he was just trying to create a big enough gap.

Speaking in the post-quali press conference, the Red Bull driver said he was quite surprised with the investigation as the drivers behind him were free to pass him:

"Just everyone is trying to make a gap. I saw a car passing five cars behind me. And then he tried to pass me as well, but I was just trying to make a gap out of the pitlane. And that's basically what everyone has been doing, so I'm surprised that… yeah, I'm quite surprised."

He added:

"Normally, I think, everyone should then be called up for impeding because everyone, with this new rule, is driving very slowly in the pitlane. Yeah, I don't think I did anything weird or wrong."

Both Max Verstappen and George Russell escaped any penalty from the stewards and will start the Mexican GP from P3 and P8 respectively.

They noted that the drivers in question did not cause any unnecessarily dangerous situations on the track while trying to back up the field and adhere to the designated out lap time between SC2 and SC1.