Austrian Grand Prix – The Penalty Grand Prix
This weekend, at the Red Bull Ring, the drivers showed indiscipline. At the end of the race, no less than 13 drivers were involved in an investigation by the stewards or received a penalty.
The list is long! Antonio Giovinazzi, Lando Norris, Yuki Tsunoda, Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll, Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly, Daniel Ricciardo, George Russell, Nicholas Latifi, Nikita Mazepin and Kimi Räikkönen. All these drivers have been involved in at least one investigation by the stewards for their on-track behavior. Only 5 did not receive a penalty.
5 seconds by 5 seconds
As soon as the race resumed, an investigation was opened against Antonio Giovinazzi. Suspected of overtaking one of his colleagues under the safety car regime, the Alfa Romeo driver was found guilty and received a 5-second penalty.
A few laps later, Lando Norris also received a penalty. The British driver sent Sergio Perez for a spin in the gravel after a (too) aggressive defense on the Mexican at turn 4. The McLaren driver received a 5-second penalty.
On two occasions, Yuki Tsunoda crossed the white line at the pit entry. The Japanese driver was therefore penalized twice by Derek Warwick and his team. The Japanese driver received a total of 10 seconds penalty (2 times 5 seconds).
Already involved in an incident with Lando Norris at the beginning of the race, Sergio Perez also showed indiscipline. In a battle with Charles Leclerc, the Red Bull driver was too aggressive in his defense and sent the Monegasque into the gravel trap twice. For his unsportsmanlike behavior, Perez also received two 5-second penalties.
Caught speeding in the pit lane, Lance Stroll also received a 5-second penalty.
A tense finish
At the end of the race, Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen collided, forcing the German to retire just a few corners before the finish line. An investigation was opened by the stewards to analyze the situation. The Finn was found responsible for the collision, as explained by the stewards: “On exiting turn 5, Räikkönen closed the door on Vettel, causing a collision that led both cars to go off track. The Alfa Romeo driver was given a drive-through penalty, but this was converted to a 20-second time penalty due to the end of the race.”
Following the clash between the two former Ferrari teammates, track marshals displayed yellow flags. However, these were not respected by eight drivers who were summoned to the race direction. Six drivers were spared because the marshals accepted that the driver had acted appropriately in the sectors under double yellow flags, as explained in the steward’s statement.
Nikita Mazepin and Nicholas Latifi did not have the same luck and were given a stop and go penalty. Like Kimi Räikkönen’s penalty, theirs was converted into a 30-second time penalty. The two drivers did not slow down enough in the specified area, as detailed in the stewards’ statement: « The stewards analyzed the telemetry of the driver in question who did not slow down sufficiently for the sector under double yellow flags. »
