Daily News 19

Tag: Drive-through penalty

  • Alex Brundle Calls Arvid Lindblad’s Dutch GP Penalty “Harsh”

    Alex Brundle Calls Arvid Lindblad’s Dutch GP Penalty “Harsh”

    F1 TV analyst Alex Brundle has described Arvid Lindblad’s drive-through penalty at the Dutch Grand Prix as “harsh”, arguing that drivers should not be punished for making a secondary overtake while taking evasive action.

    Why Arvid Lindblad was penalised at Zandvoort

    The race at Zandvoort was disrupted on the opening lap when home favourite Max Verstappen crashed at Turn 14. Lindblad was one of the drivers behind the four-time world champion and, while avoiding the incident, passed Pierre Gasly’s Alpine on the approach to Turn 1.

    The stewards classified the move as a yellow-flag infringement and issued the Racing Bulls rookie a costly drive-through penalty.

    Speaking on F1 TV’s post-race show, Brundle sympathised with Lindblad’s position.

    “I think it is harsh. The accepted way to go about it as a driver is if you’re effectively avoiding the crash, you avoid the crash and you do everything that you can to make sure that you don’t become part of the accident,” Brundle explained.

    “It’s difficult to then add in extra things that the drivers have to be aware of during an incident to make sure that they don’t then pass a car secondarily to that.

    “It depends how far you are away from the incident. But if you haven’t actually passed a yellow flag and if you’re actually trying to get around the incident, I think it’s harsh then to penalise you for passing another driver while you’re actually taking evasive action.”

    Lindblad explains Dutch Grand Prix incident

    The 19-year-old Racing Bulls driver discussed the incident from his perspective after the race.

    “Max lost it, then he came across the track, and there was debris everywhere. I couldn’t really see anything,” Lindblad told F1 TV. “I tried to avoid making contact. I think I almost hit one of his tyres. Then I was just holding my line and trying to just go straight to not have any incident or anything.

    “Then I passed Pierre into Turn 1. But I didn’t see any flags or anything. So it was a bit of a shame. I also think the penalty is a bit harsh. I think we can all be honest. It took me out of the race, basically. It was quite extreme for such an incident, but fine. It is what it is.”

    Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls

    Photo by: Eric Le Galliot

    Source: www.motorsport.com

  • FIA Explores Legal Action Over Abuse Targeting F1 Stewards After Colapinto’s Dutch GP Penalty

    FIA Explores Legal Action Over Abuse Targeting F1 Stewards After Colapinto’s Dutch GP Penalty

    Formula 1’s governing body, the FIA, has strongly condemned the wave of online harassment directed at its race stewards following their decision to penalise Alpine driver Franco Colapinto and Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad during the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.

    Penalties for Overtaking Under Double Yellow Flags

    Both drivers received drive-through penalties on the opening lap for overtaking under double-waved yellow flags. The yellow flags were deployed after a heavy crash involving Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, which neutralised the final marshal sector of the circuit until the start-finish straight.

    As the yellows were shown, Colapinto overtook Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda exiting the final corner, while Lindblad drafted past Alpine’s Pierre Gasly before crossing the start/finish line. Both drivers had been forced to take evasive action due to debris on track.

    Stewards’ Verdict Cites Mitigating Circumstances

    Regarding the Colapinto incident, the FIA stewards issued the following explanation:

    “Car 43 was behind Car 22 entering Turn 14 and overtook Car 22 in the double yellow flag sector before the line at the end of Lap 1. Normally, such infringement requires a 10-second stop/go penalty, but the Stewards acknowledge the complications caused by the significant amount of debris on track at this point and take this into account as mitigating circumstances.”

    The stewards applied an identically phrased verdict for Lindblad’s infraction.

    Sponsor Criticism Sparks Abusive Backlash

    Colapinto described his penalty as extremely harsh, arguing he overtook Tsunoda a split second after the yellows appeared. However, under the strict letter of the regulations, both penalties were clear-cut, as the FIA prioritises safety-related infractions.

    The situation escalated when Colapinto’s Argentinian sponsor, Mercado Libre, launched a scathing attack on the stewards’ integrity via social media. Sean Summers, the company’s chief marketing officer, stated:

    “The Stewards are killing the integrity of F1. This season they are proving to be horrible and impacting race results,” said Sean Summers, Mercado Libre’s chief marketing officer. “Incompetence? Dishonesty? Both? Something is seriously broken in that organisation’s culture.”

    Those inflammatory comments—since removed—fuelled a torrent of abusive threats toward the FIA stewards. Alpine’s official social media channels were also targeted by a vocal section of Argentinian fans who believed the team did not support Colapinto sufficiently.

    Alpine Trusts FIA Process, Acknowledges Harshness

    On Monday, Alpine released a statement addressing the controversy:

    “We fully trust the FIA and the stewards when it comes to the policing of these rules and the application of sporting penalties during a live race scenario.

    “We believe the penalties applied for yellow flag Infringements during the opening laps of the Dutch Grand Prix were indeed harsh, but acknowledge they fit the punishment based on the letter of the law and were consistently applied across all competitors and is something we can review and learn from as a team.”

    FIA Condemns Abuse, Explores Legal Options

    The FIA, which established the United Against Online Abuse campaign to combat harassment in sport, is understood to be exploring legal avenues and released the following statement:

    “Following the Dutch Grand Prix, FIA stewards were targeted with online abuse after applying sporting penalties in line with FIA regulations.

    “The United Against Online Abuse Coalition condemns all forms of abuse and harassment. Disagreement with decisions is part of sport, but it must never justify threats or personal attacks.

    “In 2023, the FIA launched the United Against Online Abuse Coalition after a steward faced targeted abuse following the United States Grand Prix. We urge everyone engaging with our sport to do so with respect and responsibility, online and offline.”

    Nationality Bias Claims Contradicted by Facts

    Among the toxic commentary, suggestions emerged that Colapinto was penalised due to his nationality, alleging bias against non-British drivers. This narrative is directly contradicted by the identical penalty handed to Lindblad—a British driver—for a near-identical infraction on the same lap.