Max Verstappen drove his Red Bull to a third consecutive race victory in Australia, having qualified in P1 on Saturday.
The Dutchman’s race risked being derailed after a second red flag brought all the drivers into the pitlane, allowing them to change to soft tyres with only three laps to go.
With the cars lining up on the grid for the restart, fans have taken to social media to accused Verstappen of placing his car incorrectly inside his grid box, demanding he be stripped of his victory.
Esteban Ocon was given a 5 second penalty in Bahrain for incorrect placement in his grid box, while Fernando Alonso was given a 5 second penalty in Saudi Arabia for the safe offence.
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If Verstappen was given a 5 second penalty, he would not just lose his victory, he would be dropped out of the points entirely.
Sky Sports presenter David Croft claimed that, having looked at the images circulating on social media, Verstappen did nothing wrong.
The rules laid out by the FIA require the wheels of the car to be touching or behind the line at the front of the driver’s box.
Verstappen’s front wing might have been over the line but his wheels were inside the box, making his positioning acceptable under the rules, the presenter explained.
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Speaking to Sky News Germany, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff agreed that Verstappen did not break the rules and there is nothing to be investigated.
Verstappen’s victory is his 37th grand prix success and lets him solidify his lead over teammate Sergio Perez in the Drivers’ Championship.
Red Bull continued to grow its tally in the Constructors’ Championship, with both drivers scoring points in P1 and P5.