Stewards have published their decision after Franco Colapinto passed Lance Stroll under red flags during Free Practice 3 at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Colapinto was seen to pass the Aston Martin driver on the exit of the Nouvelle Chicane in the closing moments of the final practice hour, though the Alpine driver escaped punishment.

Stewards investigate Franco Colapinto for passing Lance Stroll under red flags

A stoppage in the final moments of Free Practice 3, triggered by Lewis Hamilton clouting the barrier at Massenet, saw cars tour back to the pits at reduced speeds.

Under such conditions, drivers are not permitted to overtake.

However, Colapinto passed Aston Martin’s Stroll exiting the Nouvelle Chicane shortly after the red flags were shown.

It was an incident that caught the eye of officials for an alleged breach of the FIA International Sporting Code.

That prompted a review the incident, with stewards using positioning and signalling data, telemetry, video, timing, and team radio.

Through that process, it was proved that Colapinto did indeed pass Stroll after the red flag had been shown.

However, there were extenuating circumstances that meant neither driver was punished.

“When the overtake happened after the red flag signal was given for the session, the marshall’s [sic] post to the right of Car 43 was still showing a blue flag and the light panel had displayed a blue signal and only subsequently switched to red,” the Stewards’ report detailed.

Once the red flag was visible to Colapinto, the Alpine driver immediately adjusted his speed as required under the regulations.

Stewards also noted: “At the time that the light panel went red, the distance between the two cars was only 30 metres and there was a considerable speed delta between the two cars.

“While it is correct that Car 43 overtook Car 18 after the red flag signal was shown, it is clear that this was due to the momentum of the car and the relative distance.

“Car 43 took all reasonable steps to slow down immediately and appropriately when the red flag was in fact displayed.”

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As such, officials deemed that Colapinto had taken steps to slow and felt no need to summon the Argentinian, let alone apply any punishment.

The outcome contrasts that of Oliver Bearman, who was handed a 10-place grid penalty for passing Carlos Sainz under red flags during Friday’s second session.

“Well prior to the overtake, the session had been red flagged,” stewards judged of that incident.

“The team informed the driver rather late, just before the overtake happened.

“However, it is clear from the video footage that there was a light panel directly in front of the driver which showed the red flag; and the dashboard also indicated the red flag well before the overtake took place.”

Meanwhile, Stroll will face a one-place grid drop after a clash with Charles Leclerc during Free Practice 1.

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