George Russell has been warned and reprimanded following two incidents in free practice for the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.
A reprimand is a more serious penalty, with 5 penalties automatically converting into a 10-place grid penalty (provided at least 4 penalties have been issued for driving offences).
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The incident occurred early in the race when the Bulls were on the fast track in the pit lane and the Mercedes was exiting the garage when Russell knocked down Arvid Lindblad’s car.
“This guy just hit my front wing,” complained the Briton, but the stewards didn’t agree because the rules clearly stated that Lindblad had priority.
The full text of the Secretary’s decision:
“Stewards heard from the driver of the No. 41 car (Arvid Lindblad) and the driver of the No. 63 car (George Russell), team representatives, and reviewed video, team radio and in-car video evidence and determined that the No. 41 car was in the queue of vehicles waiting to exit the pit lane in the fast lane.
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“Car No. 63 left the garage and was waiting to enter the fast lane. Car No. 63 moved forward a little bit, as if it was about to enter the fast lane, and then stopped slightly in front of Car No. 41. A small part of Car No. 63 extended into the fast lane.”
“This caused the No. 41 car to run over that part of the front wing end panel of the No. 63 car. We have received no reports of damage to the No. 41 car as a result of the collision. Appendix L to the FIA International Sporting Rules, Chapter 4, Item 15, read together with the Race Director’s Race Notes, states that cars in the fast lane have priority over cars in the work lane. In other words, car No. 41 has priority over car No. 63.
“Car No. 63 can only move freely into the fast lane under certain conditions.” [was] “Is there adequate clearance in the queue of cars in the fast lane” and whether it can be done safely and without unnecessarily impeding cars already in the fast lane.
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“It is clear that in this case no such gap existed and the collision was caused by car 63 moving slowly forward and thus blocking a small part of the fast lane. Both drivers agreed that the driver of car 41 was unable to see the part blocking the fast lane.
“In this case, the collision could have been avoided by taking appropriate action on Vehicle 63, so we have issued a censure to the driver of Vehicle 63.”
George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Additionally, as mentioned earlier, Russell received a formal warning for conducting a practice start outside the designated area (which was irrelevant).
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Although the stewards noted that the Mercedes was “too far from its designated position and beyond the protection of the pit lane,” Russell’s case was granted leniency due to the mitigating factor of poor visibility facing the setting sun in the late afternoon.
The full text of the Secretary’s decision:
“The Steward heard from the driver of the No. 63 car (George Russell) and team representatives and reviewed the video evidence.
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“The driver admitted that he made a practice start outside the designated practice start area specified in item 14.1 of the Race Director’s Race Notes. However, he explained that he could not clearly see the grid box due to the impact of the sun and believed that the correct location was where the rubber marks could be seen on the asphalt.
“Having reviewed the driver’s onboard and CCTV footage, we accept that it was difficult to see the grid box given the light conditions, but that the driver was too far from his designated position, in front of the protection of the pit wall, and the incident occurred after the Race Director warned all teams of the need to comply with his instructions in this regard.
“The Steward determined that the driver failed to comply with the Race Director’s instructions and imposed the same penalty as for similar offenses in the past.
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“The Steward reminds all competitors that compliance with the Race Director’s instructions regarding the correct position for practice starts is vital to the safe conduct of the event.”
Also read:
‘Very impressive’ Mercedes is no longer sandbagging – Charles Leclerc
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