Multiple post-race penalties following Race 1 at the Red Bull Ring

Eleven drivers have been penalised following today’s Race 1 at the Red Bull Ring.

Seven of them have received time penalties for Track Limit Violations, starting with podium finishers Olli Caldwell and Logan Sargeant. Both of them left the track at Turn 9 and/or Turn 10 four times, without justifiable reason. As a consequence, 5s have been added to their total race time. Caldwell does not lose second place despite the time added, but Sargeant drops from third to P15.

The same penalty has been given to Victor Martins for the same reason. Five seconds have also been added to his total race time, dropping him from fourth to fifth in the final classification.

Caio Collet and Amaury Cordeel have received a 10s-time penalties for leaving the track at the same turns, five times. The Brazilian had finished sixth and now classifies P17, while the Belgian. who had finished P21, now classifies 22nd.

Matteo Nannini has also been found guilty of leaving the track at Turn 9 and/or Turn 10, nine times. As a consequence, 30s have been added to his total race time. The Italian had finished P9, but has fallen to P23. Filip Ugran is also amongst the list of drivers to have left the track at the same turns, making the offence 10 times. Thirty seconds have been added to his total race time and he now classifies P24.

Jak Crawford has received a 5s time penalty for driving beyond the edge of the track and gaining an advantage over Alex Smolyar. The Russian has received the same time penalty for doing the same thing to Crawford. The American had finished fifth and Smolyar 10th, but they now classify P8 and P14, respectively.

Calan Williams was found guilty of making contact with David Schumacher at the exit of Turn 4. The Stewards determined that the Jenzer driver was on the inside of the Trident racer at the apex of Turn 4, but he was unable to maintain his line and was drawn into the German. This led to the two cars making contact, with Williams wholly to blame for the collision. Five seconds have been added to his total race time with the Australian now finishing P16.

Meanwhile, Ayumu Iwasa has been disqualified from today’s Race 1 results. The Japanese failed to come into the pits after receiving a black and orange flag and carried on to finish the race.

During the hearing, Hitech Grand Prix’s representative stated that they had an issue with the onboard camera since qualifying and were informed (after qualifying) that the issue should have been resolved during Race 1. After being shown the black and orange flag, the team tried to contact the Race Director to discuss the necessity of the flag. Communication was not possible due to further technical issues.

After hearing the justification, the Stewards reiterated that complying with flag signals is imperative. The responsibility and onus of components fitted on a car fall fully on the competitor, as well as any subsequent safety concerns arising from their fitment.

The Stewards noted that the decision to ignore the black and orange flag was fully a team decision and did not result from the negligence of Iwasa. As such they agreed that the issuing of penalty points would not be justifiable and fair. Iwasa had classified 9th and he will start Race 2 in P29.

Meanwhile, Clément Novalak has received a three-place grid drop for Race 2 for the contact he made with Nannini at the exit of Turn 4 in the later stage of this morning’s event. The two drivers were fighting for the lead when they collided, which resulted in the Italian dropping to P8, while the Frenchman retired.

The Stewards determined that Novalak tried to defend his position at the exit of Turn 4, with Nannini alongside him, but decided that the Frenchman did not leave sufficient space on the outside. This led to the two cars making contact. Novalak was found predominantly to blame for the collision and will start from P30 in Race 2.