2 drivers got hit with penalties during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with another receiving one post-race. Sergio Perez and Kevin Magnussen also got handed points on their licence.
Despite crossing the line with a 5-second penalty hanging over him, Sergio Perez finished 2nd on Saturday as he had enough of a gap to Charles Leclerc in P3.
The Mexican was given the time penalty for an unsafe release into the path of Fernando Alonso — but he was handed another point on his licence because he left the box when a red light was shown by the team not to leave.
“The Stewards reviewed video, team radio and in-car video evidence and determined that Car 11 was released from a pit stop in an unsafe manner. Car 14 had to take evasive action to avoid a collision.
“What made the situation worse was the fact that Car 11 left the pits when there was a red light shown to it (indicating that it should not go out of the pit box).
“We therefore imposed a 5 second time penalty and 1 penalty point.”
The extra point now gives Perez a total of 8 on his licence, 4 away from a race ban.
In a very rare scenario, Yuki Tsunoda was handed a post-race penalty for something that occurred before the Grand Prix itself. The Japanese driver dropped to 15th behind Logan Sargeant as he picked up a 5-second penalty. The RB F1 driver was released unsafely from his garage and Lando Norris had to slam on the brakes to avoid a crash.
Tsunoda was given the penalty because he ignored his number 1 mechanic’s instruction not to drive out — but he avoided a penalty point as it happened before the race.
“The Stewards reviewed video, team radio and in-car video evidence and heard from the drivers and team representatives of Car 22 and Car 4 and determined that Car 22 was released unsafely from the garage during the reconnaissance lap into thepath of Car 4 which had to take evasive action to avoid a collision.
“The driver of Car 22 admitted that he did not see the Number 1 in his team signaling not to come out as his attention was diverted towards exiting the car from the garage He apologised for his oversight.
“An unsafe release during the race (which would include the reconnaissance lap) would typically attract a 5-second time penalty, which is what we imposed.
“In addition, for an infringement of this nature, it would be appropriate to award 1 penalty point. Given that this took place during the reconnaissance lap as opposed to the race proper, we decided to not impose the penalty point.”
For Kevin Magnussen, he was on the end of two penalties. On the restart following the Safety Car, Magnussen squeezed Albon into the wall towards turn 4 and left the Thai with damage. The Dane also complained about some performance loss with his floor.
Albon clash
“The Stewards reviewed video, team radio and in-car video evidence and found that Car 20 did not give sufficient space to Car 23 at Turn 4, resulting in a collision forwhich Car 20 was wholly or predominantly to blame.
“In keeping with the revisions made to the 2024 Penalty guidelines, we imposed a 10-second time penalty on Car 20 together with 3 penalty points.”
Later in the race, the 31-year-old lunged down the inside into turn 4 as he had an intense battle with Yuki Tsunoda as he backed the pack up behind him to help Nico Hülkenberg get P10. He just about went off the track and was penalised again.
Tsunoda overtake off-track
“The Stewards reviewed positioning/marshaling system data, video, timing, telemetry, team radio and in-car video evidence and determined that Car 20 attempted to overtake Car 22 at Turn 4 and in the process left the track.
“He did not give the position back and therefore gained a lasting advantage by leaving the track. We accordingly gave Car 20 a 10-second time penalty.”
Lando Norris escaped a penalty as he looked to have jumped the start on Saturday evening. After starting P6, he moved forward in his grid box but stopped quite quickly.
Explaining why he escaped a penalty, the stewards said the transponder showed the Brit had not jumped the start.
“The Stewards reviewed positioning marshalling system data, video and determined that the video appeared to show that Car 4 moved before the start signal was given.
“However, the FIA approved and supplied transponder fitted on the car did not indicate a jump start.
“Article 48.1 a) of the Formula One Sporting Regulations states clearly that thejudgment of whether or not there was a jump start is to be made in accordance with the transponder, which did not show a jump start.
“In the circumstances, we took no further action.”
