Hülkenberg doubly penalized after Sprint race
Nico Hülkenberg is penalized following the Sprint race at the Austrian Grand Prix. The stewards penalized him for overtaking Fernando Alonso 2 laps before the finish.
The maneuver was aggressive, too much for the race stewards. During his overtaking of Fernando Alonso, Nico Hülkenberg widened and pushed the Spaniard out of the track limits at turn 3. A regrettable incident that occurred only 2 laps before the finish. Fernando Alonso, finally 15th in this Sprint race, first reacted heatedly, on the microphone of DAZN:
« Maybe they will penalize him, I don’t know. He pushed me off the track, but well, it’s Sprint race… We know we couldn’t compete.
» Before mischievously adding: « I am Spanish, it’s better not to get into trouble.
Not sure if the stewards listened to the Spanish driver in the mixed zone. In any case, they decided to penalize Nico Hülkenberg for his maneuver.
« The stewards reviewed the race videos and onboard cameras. Car 27’s driver attempted an overtaking maneuver on car 14 at turn 3 but locked up the wheels and missed the apex. The car understeered to the edge of the track, preventing car 14 from turning and forcing the driver off the track. »
Penalized by 10 seconds and 2 points on his license.
Nico Hülkenberg is penalized with 2 points on his super license. Points he will be able to recover in 1 year to reach the maximum of 12. He also incurs a 10-second penalty that will be added to his Sprint race time. He drops from 14th to 19th place with this sanction. The Sprint race, as its name suggests, pushes drivers to sometimes take more risks due to this short format. The 2 drivers, Alonso and Hülkenberg, paid the price for it.
