Jean-Eric Vergne will pay his own 25,000 euro fine
Jean-Eric Vergne was at the origin of the incredible end of the race in Valencia with his crash with Heikki Kovalainen's Caterham. He will now have to settle the fine issued by the FIA, amounting to 25,000 euros.
The entry of the safety car onto the street circuit was caused by the collision between the French driver and the Finnish driver. The Caterham driver ended up with a punctured front left tire, while the Toro Rosso rookie suffered the same fate on his rear right.
Nevertheless, Jean-Eric Vergne tried to lose as little time as possible by continuing at a steady pace, which led to the disintegration of his tire and additional damage to his car. He thus committed a speeding violation in the pits.
The FIA has decided to crack down on this kind of behavior, resulting in a 10-place grid drop at Silverstone and a fine of 25,000 euros. Gerhard Berger, the former co-owner of the Italian team, had declared: «What he did is not acceptable and it’s his fault.»
His employer believes that it is not up to them to settle the bill as it is the driver’s error. Christian Horner, the team manager of Red Bull, stated: “If it’s the driver’s fault, he must pay. If, for example, a driver comes into the pits too quickly because his limiter isn’t working properly, then the team will pay the fine. Jean-Eric will probably have to dig into his own pockets for this one.”
If the amount may seem significant to the average person, it’s important to remember that the latest F1 salary rankings showed that the Frenchman received a salary of 400,000 euros for his season as a main driver at Toro Rosso. So only 6.25% of his salary (excluding sponsors) has just been lost in this “racing incident,” according to the terms used by the driver…
With the participation of RacingBusiness.fr
