Latest news with #InternationalSportingCode
Qatar Tribune
15-07-2025
- Automotive
- Qatar Tribune
Ben Sulayem ruling FIA with an iron fist can have its advantages: Wolff
Principal of Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team, Toto Wolff says Mohammed Ben Sulayem's FIA presidency of 'ruling with an iron fist' has had 'its advantages' to assert two key topics the Mercedes boss feels he has got right within Formula 1. The FIA president and Mercedes chief have clashed over how the governing body has overseen tighter restrictions over a 'swearing ban' and a push for an 11th F1 team since Ben Sulayem became president at the end of 2021, but it appears tensions have reduced in recent months. 'You can't deny that he's ruling with an iron fist,' Wolff told selected Austrian media during the Austrian GP weekend last month. 'He doesn't let anyone tell him what to do. That can have its advantages.' The most recent matter in the spotlight has been the FIA's 'swearing ban' which was criticised heavily upon introduction, until the governing body announced revisions to the rules in Appendix B of the International Sporting Code in April, which outlines restrictions on swearing. Fines have been reduced from €10,000 to €5000 and stewards can suspend penalties for first-time offenders, while exceptions were introduced for swearing in uncontrolled environments, such as over team radio. Wolff overall has supported the 'swearing ban' as he felt drivers in F1 needed to consider their status as role models to young drivers and fans. 'I think his stance on swearing is right,' Wolff said, referring to Ben Sulayem. 'Many of the drivers who scream on the radio don't speak English as their first language. If a French or Italian driver says 'go and fuck yourself' on the radio and thinks it's normal, it's probably because he's heard it that way since his karting days. But if you translate it literally into his native language, it can actually shock him. 'I think kids need to learn not to insult others on the radio. That engineer [on the radio to the driver] has a family at home who are very proud that their father or husband is working with a Formula 1 driver. 'If the driver lashes out at him like that, it's not good – and unfortunately, that already happens in junior categories.' Wolff speaks from personal experience, as his son Jack now races in karting, with drivers influenced by what happens in F1: 'The eight-, nine-, 10-year-olds talk like the pros. They're obviously their role models, I think it's good that the president is taking a strong stance on this.' The Mercedes boss added: 'You can debate where to draw the line between swearing and insulting. During a race, we're also a dumping ground for the drivers. They're going 300kph, wheel to wheel, physically and mentally on the edge, and then we tell them to be polite. But that's not the point. 'It's fine if they vent. What's not fine is when it turns into personal abuse. That's where a firm line is drawn.' The other topic Wolff previously hadn't seen eye-to-eye with the FIA president over was his push for Andretti to join the F1 grid as an 11th team, but his stance did soften once the project was tied to Cadillac's manufacturer backing, with the team set to join the championship in 2026.
Metro
05-07-2025
- Automotive
- Metro
Max Verstappen laughs at British F1 star's huge Silverstone crash
Max Verstappen could not believe his eyes as he watched Ollie Bearman's bizarre pit-lane crash during British Grand Prix practice. Formula 1 is at Silverstone this weekend where Lando Norris has the chance to overtake McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in the championship battle in front of his home fans. But Ferrari are looking very quick, with Sir Lewis Hamilton fastest in first practice on Friday while Charles Leclerc topped third practice on Saturday ahead of qualifying. However, final practice finished in peculiar fashion after Gabriel Bortoleto spun off in the final few minutes and badly damaged his Sauber, bringing out the red flag. As drivers headed back to the pits, British star Bearman accelerated rapidly as he got to the pit-lane entrance before slamming on the brakes – perhaps trying to simulate race conditions. However, this caused his Haas to spin and slam into the barriers at high-speed. Thankfully, the 20-year-old was unhurt and was able to nurse his car, minus the front wing, back to the garage. Verstappen was directly behind the rookie with a clear view of the crash and was left completely baffled by the shunt. 'Oh my god! Someone just crashed in the pit entrance! Haha, what?!' the four-time champion said over the team radio as he drove past the debris. '**** idiot, my brakes were cold. ****, sorry,' Bearman said on the radio in the immediate aftermath. The stewards took a dim view of the rookie's shunt, slapping him with a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday's race, meaning Bearman will almost certainly start his first home grand prix from last place. 'Car 87 had slowed down for the red flag and as he was approaching Turn 15 accelerated significantly to race pace and entered the pit entry road at 260kph,' the steward's verdict read. 'He lost control of the car in the pit entry road and crashed into the barriers. Art. 37.6 (a) of the Formula One Sporting Regulations and Art. 2.5.4.1(b) of Appendix H of the International Sporting Code require that when a red flag is shown 'all cars must immediately reduce speed and proceed slowly back to the pit lane'. More Trending 'It is beyond doubt that the driver of 'Car 87 did not proceed slowly back to the pit lane when he accelerated to simulate entering into the pit entry road under race conditions. 'In fact, we looked at a previous in-lap under normal racing conditions and found that he was faster in this lap, under a red flag. To make matters worse, he lost control of the car and crashed into the barriers while at speed. 'The driver informed us that he misjudged the fact that his brakes were not warm because the lap was done slowly, due to the red flag. While this may have been a factor contributing to the crash, we did not consider it to be a mitigating factor.' Ahead of the British Grand Prix, Bearman is 18th in the standings with six points from the opening 11 races. For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: Red Arrows flight path this weekend ahead of Swansea Airshow and Silverstone flypast MORE: What Max Verstappen told 'f****** idiot' Kimi Antonelli after Austrian Grand Prix crash MORE: Max Verstappen reveals why he snubbed Lewis Hamilton and Brad Pitt's F1 movie
Newsweek
14-06-2025
- Automotive
- Newsweek
Why Was Yuki Tsunoda Given A 10-Place Grid Penalty For The Canadian GP?
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Red Bull Formula One driver Yuki Tsunoda has been slapped with a 10-place grid penalty for the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix. The Japanese driver will start the race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve from 20th on the grid after finishing qualifying in 11th. On top of the grid penalty, Tsunoda was handed two penalty points on his super licence, bringing his total to two in 12 months. The FIA has confirmed that Tsunoda was handed the penalty for overtaking McLaren driver Oscar Piastri under red flag conditions during the third and final practice session. While speaking to the media following qualifying, Tsunoda claimed that he didn't feel that he deserved the penalty. Yuki Tsunoda of Japan and Oracle Red Bull Racing talks with Richard Wood, Race Engineer of Oracle Red Bull Racing in the garage during final practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at... Yuki Tsunoda of Japan and Oracle Red Bull Racing talks with Richard Wood, Race Engineer of Oracle Red Bull Racing in the garage during final practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve on June 14, 2025 in Montreal, Quebec. More"I'm not really sure I deserve that penalty because I don't know what they want me to do," he explained. "Obviously I saw Oscar driving far left and I understand that under the red flag you can't overtake. But waiting for Oscar to pit behind the damaged car, for me it's just waiting for debris to hit me. "I saw the tyre was going sideways and I thought the tyre was going to fly away. Obviously I knew that, so I went far right. I checked the car ahead of Oscar, the car behind myself, make sure there's no one. I went far left, opposite way to overtake him with a sensible speed which was 170kmh. "Half the speed of the speed that we normally drive and I got a penalty. So having 10-place is ridiculous for me. I don't know what they want me to do. Apparently they want me to stay behind Oscar to not overtake. But for me it's just hoping that debris won't hit me. "I don't understand with this, especially the car having damage, driving very slow. I don't think I deserve this 10-place [penalty]." Why was Tsunoda penalised in Canada? The FIA released a report to confirm why Tsunoda was penalised. The race stewards confirmed: "Car 22 overtook Car 81 under red flag. (Breach of Appendix H, Article 2.5.4.1 b) of the International Sporting Code. "Drop of 10 grid positions for the next Race in which the driver participates. 2 penalty points (total of 2 for the 12 month period). "The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 22 (Yuki Tsunoda), team representative and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, timing, telemetry and in-car video evidence. "Car 81 (Piastri) had earlier collided with the barrier at the exit of turn 14 and damaged the rear right wheel and sustained a puncture and suspension damage. A red flag was displayed when Car 22 was at turn 6. Car 22 reduced speed at that point. After turn 12, Car 22 was approaching Car 81 on the back straight. The driver of Car 22 said that he saw Car 81 travelling slowly on the left side of the track with obvious damage. He said that he was worried that he might be struck by debris from Car 81 and decided to overtake. "Telemetry showed that Car 81 was travelling at 86kph when Car 22 overtook at a speed of 171kph. "Having considered the matter extensively, the Stewards determined that while Car 81 had an obvious problem, it was not travelling at such a speed that it prevented Car 22 from following it at a safe distance. The circumstances were such that there was no justifiable reason for the driver of Car 22 to have overtaken Car 81." The 2025 Canadian Grand Prix is set for Sunday, 15 June and 2 p.m. local time.
Daily Mirror
24-05-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
Carlos Sainz penalty statement issued after breaking same rule as Oliver Bearman
Oliver Bearman was handed a 10-place grid penalty at the Monaco Grand Prix for overtaking in red flag conditions during practice, but Carlos Sainz escaped punishment for doing so The Monaco Grand Prix stewards have explained why Carlos Sainz was not punished despite breaking the same rule as Oliver Bearman. The Brit's weekend has already been ruined by a whopping 10-place grid penalty, handed to him after he was found guilty of overtaking under red flag conditions. Such a move is seen as being highly dangerous and Bearman was duly punished for doing it in practice on Friday. And it seemed a similar punishment might have been heading Sainz's way after the Williams driver was reported for doing the same thing. But after investigating what happened, the stewards have decided against punishing the Spaniard. That is despite them concluding that he did indeed overtake Franco Colapinto under red flag conditions during practice. However, explaining their decision, the stewards pointed out how the circumstances were very different. While they felt Bearman should have reacted sooner to slow down, they concluded that Sainz did not have the time to avoid overtaking the Alpine of Colapinto. The officials said: "Car 55 [Sainz] overtook Car 43 [Colapinto] at turn two. As Car 55 was going towards turn two, the session was red flagged. Car 55 was very close to Car 43 when that happened (42 metres). "Car 55 was travelling at a significant speed, in excess of 250kph. Car 43, on the other hand, was on a slow lap on the left hand side of the track. As soon as the red flag was shown, Car 55 took immediate steps to slow down in a safe manner as required under Article 2.5.4.1 b) of Appendix H to the International Sporting Code. "There was a significant speed delta between the two cars and the overtake was an inevitable consequence of that speed delta and the distance between the cars. In the circumstances, we took no further action." In Bearman's case, however, the stewards found that there was "no mitigating factor" as the Haas driver had elected not to slow down straight away as soon as he saw the red flashing light, claiming that he had felt it would have been more dangerous to do so in the circumstances. But the stewards did not agree and said: "The regulations require the drivers to 'immediately' reduce speed and proceed slowly back to their respective pits (Article 2.5.4.1 b)). The same regulations caution drivers of the fact that in a red flag situation, 'overtaking is forbidden' and that drivers should 'remember that race and service vehicles may be on the track'. "We disagreed with his decision to not take steps to slow down sufficiently to avoid overtaking another car and instead proceeding slowly back to the pits, as required. The whole purpose of requiring drivers to slow down immediately is for safety – they will not know what is in front of them or the reason for the red flag being shown. This is particularly so in a track like Monaco."
Newsweek
17-05-2025
- Automotive
- Newsweek
F1 Driver's Imola Qualifying Goes From Bad To Worse After Penalty And Crash
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Alpine Formula 1 driver Franco Colapinto has been hit with a grid penalty following qualifying for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, which he crashed out of. The Argentinian driver was the second to crash during qualifying after Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda also suffered a horrific crash which saw his RB21 flip in the air. Thankfully, both drivers were okay and were cleared by the medical center. However, Colapinto has now been hit with a one-place grid penalty after some confusion with his team meant that he entered the fast lane of the pit lane before a re-start time had been confirmed after Tsunoda's crash. Colapinto will now start the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix from 16th on the grid. Oscar Piastri secured pole position and will be joined on the front row by Max Verstappen. Franco Colapinto of Argentina and Alpine F1 arrives in the Paddock during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna at Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari on May 15, 2025 in Imola, Italy. Franco Colapinto of Argentina and Alpine F1 arrives in the Paddock during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna at Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari on May 15, 2025 in Imola, did the FIA say? The official letter from the Stewards states: "Fact: Entering fast lane in the pit lane before a re-start time was confirmed. "Infringement: Breach of Article 12.2.1 i) of the International Sporting Code and non-compliance with Race Director's Event Note (item 17, document 4). "Decision: Drop of 1 grid position for the next Race in which the driver participates. "Reason: The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 43 (Franco Colapinto), team representative and reviewed video, team radio and in-car video evidence and determined as follows: "The team representative stated that he gave the instruction for the car to creep out but not be fully released. The driver misunderstood the instruction and entered the fast lane before the re-start time was officially confirmed in breach of the Race Director's event notes. Once this was done, it was too late to reverse course and the team instructed the driver to proceed down the pit lane. "The team argued that there was no sporting advantage gained in this case as there was sufficient time remaining for other teams to perform their run plans as this was the start of the session. The team representative and the driver apologised for the inadvertent breach. "The Stewards consider that this breach was inadvertent but it did require a sporting penalty to be imposed. However as the breach was unintentional and this did not result in any sporting advantage, we decided to impose a one position grid penalty. "A similar breach in different circumstances, could entail a more severe sporting penalty, in future."
