Several drivers penalised following Monte Carlo Sprint Race

Following the conclusion of Saturday’s FIA Formula 3 Sprint Race, several drivers have been penalised.

Firstly, Nicola Lacorte has been given a 10-second time penalty.

The DAMS Lucas Oil driver was found to be wholly at fault for a collision with Santiago Ramos on Lap 1 as he had unnecessarily pinched and deprived the Van Amersfoort Racing driver of room at the entry of Turn 7.

After reviewing available evidence, the Stewards determined that there were no mitigating circumstances for the incident, and as a result, elected to apply the standard penalty for causing a collision, which is a 10-second time penalty.

As Lacorte did not finish the race, the 10-second time penalty is converted into a five-place grid drop that will be applied in the next race in which he participates.

Secondly, James Hedley has been given a five-second time penalty for not being in the correct starting position.

The Stewards examined video evidence and positioning/marshalling system data and determined that the contact patch of Car 26’s front tyres was outside the line of grid box at the Start signal.

Under Article 8.6.1 a) and b) of the International Sporting code this is considered a False Start and it incurs a mandatory penalty under Article 37.15. But given the limited extent of the breach the Stewards opted to hand Hedley a five-second time penalty.

Next, Bruno del Pino has also been given a five-second time penalty for a false start.

The Stewards examined video evidence and determined that the driver of Car 18 committed a false start by moving before the start. However, he did not gain a significant advantage, so the Stewards elected to hand him a five-second time penalty.

With the penalty applied, Del Pino finishes P22 in the final classification.

Additionally, Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak has also been given a 10-second time penalty for being out of position. He was found to have been out of position at Safety Car Line 1 during the Formation Lap.

As such, a 10 second stop-and-go penalty has been converted to a 30-second time penalty, which has been added to his final race time. The penalty means the Campos Racing driver drops from 18th to 23rd in the order.