Daniel Ricciardo has been penalized with a three-place grid drop for the Miami race and a deduction of two points from his Super Licence
During the Chinese Grand Prix last Sunday, Daniel Ricciardo received a penalty that went unnoticed by many but not by the FIA stewards. He was handed a three-place grid penalty for the upcoming Miami Grand Prix for overtaking another car under safety car conditions. Despite his explanation, the stewards deemed the incident irregular and penalized the Australian driver with 2 points on his super license.
The International Automobile Federation (FIA) imposed a heavy penalty on Daniel Ricciardo, who faced significant setbacks this Sunday after retiring from the Chinese Grand Prix due to an accident. The Australian received a three-place grid penalty for the next Grand Prix in Miami, along with an additional two points on his Super License.
The stewards at the Chinese Grand Prix determined that Ricciardo should not have overtaken Nico Hülkenberg during the safety car period. When the safety car was deployed to clear Valtteri Bottas’s Sauber, Ricciardo found himself ahead of Lance Stroll and Nico Hülkenberg. However, as the safety car was about to return to the pits, Stroll collided with Ricciardo from behind, preventing the Australian driver from taking his corner properly. Hülkenberg then passed both drivers, as per the regulations allowing overtaking under safety car conditions when there is an incident or a significantly slow car ahead. Hülkenberg was ahead of Ricciardo on the restart, but the safety car was deployed again a few laps later to clear Yuki Tsunoda’s Racing Bulls.
Despite discussions with his team over the radio, Ricciardo decided to retake Hülkenberg to reclaim what he believed was his rightful position. « I’ll pass him, anyway, it’s my position, » he said on the radio, while his engineer, Guillaume Rocquelin, asked him to wait for further instructions.
However, the FIA ruled that Ricciardo should not have made the overtaking maneuver. « Ricciardo admitted to deliberately overtaking Hülkenberg, but explained that he thought he could do so because he had overtaken him under the safety car conditions previously on lap 28. We note that Hülkenberg was entitled to pass Ricciardo on lap 28 in accordance with Article 55.8. »
According to the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations, drivers are allowed to overtake under safety car conditions under certain conditions, including if a slow driver has an obvious problem.
Thus, the legitimacy of Hülkenberg’s position should not have been questioned. The FIA concluded that « there was no justifiable reason for Ricciardo to overtake Hülkenberg under safety car conditions. Therefore, we imposed a 10-second penalty. »
« As Daniel Ricciardo was unable to serve the penalty due to his retirement, we have imposed a three-place grid penalty for the next race in which the driver participates. »
It’s a double penalty for Ricciardo, who, in addition to retiring without being at fault today, will face additional challenges in the next race.
