© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Max Verstappen has been handed a 50,000 EUR fine for “touching and examining” his and Lewis Hamilton‘s rear wings, but he will not receive a grid penalty.
After Friday’s Brazilian Grand Prix Qualifying Lewis Hamilton is being investigated for his DRS exceeding the maximum distance when opened.
However, Max Verstappen has been filmed checking and touching Lewis Hamilton and his own rear wing elements in parc ferme. By doing this he has breached article 2.5.1 of the International Sporting Code.
“Inside the Parc Fermé, only the officials assigned may enter,“ the article states.
“No operation, checking, tuning or repair is allowed unless authorized by the same officials or by the applicable regulations.”
After a long deliberation Verstappen has been foudn guilty and handed a 50,000 euro fine, but he has escaped a grid penalty. Here is the full verdict:
“The Stewards are satisfied, from watching all the videos, his body position and the video of the wing, that there was insignificant force when Verstappen touched the wing.
“The stewards also examined a fan video taken from across the track, CCTV video footage taken from pit lane and in car footage from car 14, car 33, car 44 and car 77.
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“In all, these videos gave a clear picture of what occurred in parc fermé following the qualifying session.
“Verstappen exits the car, then moves to the rear of his car. He then takes his gloves off and puts his right hand at the slot-gap of the rear wing of his car. He then moves to car 44 and repeats the exercise, touching the rear wing in two places, once on either side of the DRS actuation device, but on the bottom rear side of the wing, in the area of the slot gap and never near the actuator or the end fixation points.
“Clear, high definition video from the rear facing roll-hoop camera on car 44 shows that there is absolutely no movement of any of the wing elements on car 44 when Verstappen touches the back of the wing and the Stewards are satisfied, from watching all the videos, his body position and the video of the wing, that there was insignificant force when Verstappen touched the wing.
“It is clear to the Stewards that it has become a habit of the drivers to touch cars after qualifying and the races. This was also the explanation of Verstappen, that it was simply habit to touch this area of the car which has been a point of speculation in recent races between both teams.
“This general tendency has been seen as mostly harmless and so has not been uniformly policed. Nevertheless, it is a breach of the parc fermé regulation and has significant potential to cause harm.
“Considering the fact that no direct harm was caused in this case, in the opinion of the Stewards, and that no earlier precedent of penalties for this exists – on the one hand; but that it is a breach of the regulation and has potential for serious consequences on the other, the Stewards determine to take action in this case and order a fine of €50,000.
“The Stewards further note that it is intended that all teams and drivers take notice that future breaches may incur different penalties from the Stewards of those events. Competitors are reminded that they have the right to appeal certain decisions of the Stewards, in accordance with Article 15 of the FIA International Sporting Code and Chapter 4 of the FIA Judicial and Disciplinary Rules, within the applicable time limits.”
Mercedes’ alleged regulations breached is still being investigated with the verdict expected before today’s Sprint Qualifying Race.
