Racing Bulls has been given a penalty following the unsafe release of Isack Hadjar, into Red Bull’s Max Verstappen during the Chinese Grand Prix qualifying.
The French-Algerian driver exited his garage in front of the reigning champion during Q3, necessitating a swerve from the RB21 machinery to avoid contact. While there was no resulting contact, the possible danger warranted a €5,000 penalty to the Racing Bulls team.
The verdict from the FIA read:
“The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 6 (Isack Hadjar), the driver of Car 1 (Max Verstappen), team representatives and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video and in-car video evidence and determine as follows.
Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Team
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
“The driver of Car 6 stated that he followed the instructions of his pit lane representative (‘the Number 1’) and came out of the garage when requested to do so.
“He was slightly late in exiting the garage but in any event it was clear that the release was late and that resulted in Car 6 being released into the path of Car 1. The driver of Car 1 had to take evasive action to avoid a collision or risk flat spotting his tyres if he braked hard.
“The team representative accepted that the team made a mistake in this instance.
“We accordingly imposed a fine of €5,000 to the team.”
The racing driver will still start in from seventh on the grid in tomorrow’s Grand Prix.
Ollie Bearman of Haas has not been penalised for his alleged impeding of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll. The driver was cleared of wrongdoing after visiting the stewards, and will start in 17th in tomorrow’s race. Stroll will begin in 14th.
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