Seven drivers avoid a penalty
Before the start of the sprint race, seven drivers received a radio message from their team. An action prohibited by the regulations. However, the FIA has decided to clear them.
A few small words that can be costly. After the sprint race that took place this Saturday afternoon, seven drivers were under investigation for receiving a radio message from their team: Mick Schumacher, Daniel Ricciardo, George Russell, Esteban Ocon, Sergio Pérez, Lance Stroll, and Sebastian Vettel.
This list of drivers has been informed by their team that an additional training lap will be conducted due to the mechanical issue encountered by Guanyu Zhou during the grid formation. However, the regulation states that teams are not allowed to communicate with their driver before the start.
After investigation and discussion with the different teams, the commissioners finally stated that the conversations were legal. The commissioners received a report from the race director and used audio evidence. The commissioners met with the relevant team managers and determined that the messages under investigation were authorized, explains an FIA report.
This action therefore has no impact on the final ranking of the sprint race. All drivers keep their positions and Max Verstappen will indeed start from pole position.
In 2020, during the Hungarian Grand Prix, Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean both received a 10-second penalty for similar incidents. The penalty cost Haas valuable points.
