Penalty Round Up: Brazilian Grand Prix Weekend

The Brazilian Grand Prix weekend was interesting and chaotic. Throughout the weekend, a lot of the chaos involved penalties, and these penalties were handed out for many different reasons. Here’s a look at the penalties that were handed out during the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend. 

Lewis Hamilton handed five-place grid penalty

Before the action of the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend even really started, Lewis Hamilton faced a five-place grid penalty. Hamilton got this penalty because he took a new internal combustion engine. A five-place grid penalty was not something Hamilton or Mercedes wanted to have as they are still fighting for the championship, but it was a strategic decision by the Mercedes team. Mercedes wanted Hamilton to have a more powerful and fresher engine to take him through to the end of the season, and they decided Brazil was the best place to take a penalty because it is possible to overtake on Brazil’s circuit. 

Max Verstappen fined €50,000

After qualifying on Friday, a video was released that showed Max Verstappen looking at the rear wing of Lewis Hamilton’s car. At this time, the cars were in parc ferme, and there are a lot of rules surrounding the cars in parc ferme conditions. One of these rules is that no checking or working on cars is allowed unless officials or the regulations say it is okay to do so. 

In the video, Max was seen inspecting his own rear wing first, then he moved to Hamilton’s car and did the same thing. When investigating the incident, the stewards looked at a video a fan took, CCTV video footage, and multiple angles of in car footage. They also spoke to Verstappen and a Red Bull representative. 

In the end, the stewards found that Verstappen touching the car did no real harm. However, they still decided to fine Verstappen for his actions. One reason they did this is because in the past, violation of this FIA International Sporting Code rule has not been uniformly policed, so by punishing Verstappen for breaking it, the stewards showed they can and will punish those who break this rule in the future. 

Lewis Hamilton disqualified from Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton took P1 in Qualifying on Friday. However, after qualifying, his car was referred to the stewards for a possible technical infringement with his rear wing.

When DRS (Drag Reduction System) is not activated, the gap between the upper and lower parts of the rear wing on the car must be between 10 and 15 millimeters. Hamilton’s rear wing adhered to this part of this rule and passed the test the stewards administered to check it. When DRS is activated, the gap between the upper and lower parts of the rear wing is larger, but it still must be between 10 and 85 millimeters. When DRS was activated, the gap on the outer parts of Hamilton’s rear wing exceeded 85 millimeters, meaning that his car broke the technical regulation. 

While this infringement was reported on Friday, a decision was not made until after Free Practice 2 on Saturday. This allowed more evidence to be gathered. On Saturday, the FIA decided that the design of the rear wing met the intent of the regulation and that the infringement was not intentional. However, the FIA decided to still penalise Hamilton and Mercedes. They handed Hamilton the typical punishment for technical non-compliance: disqualification. Hamilton was disqualified from Qualifying, and he had to start Saturday’s Sprint Race from P20. This was Hamilton’s second penalty of the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend.

Kimi Raikkonen had to start from the pit lane

During Saturday’s Sprint Race, Kimi Raikkonen made contact with his teammate Antonio Giovinazzi. As a result of this contact, Alfa Romeo decided to change the rear wing specification on Raikkonen’s car, and they also made changes to the car’s suspension set up. In parc ferme, which the car was in on Saturday, these changes cannot be made. Changing these components on Raikkonen’s car meant he had to start Sunday’s race from the pit lane. 

 Yuki Tsunoda given a 10-second time penalty

The only penalty of the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend to come out of the race itself was Yuki Tsunoda’s time penalty. Tsunoda received a 10-second time penalty and two penalty points on his license for causing a collision with Lance Stroll. 

On Lap 4 of the race, Tsunoda attempted to pass Stroll in Turn 1, but he instead locked up and went into the left side of Stroll’s car. Stroll and Aston Martin blamed the incident on Tsunoda, calling the move too optimistic and reckless. The stewards agreed, calling the move an “optimistic manoeuvre” and giving Tsunoda a 10-second penalty. Tsunoda admitted that the move was risky, but he said he felt that the 10-second penalty was too harsh.  

 Lewis Hamilton fined €5,000

The final penalty of the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend was given to Lewis Hamilton, and it was given to him because of what he did on his cool down lap after the chequered flag. 

After driving a stellar race and going from 10th to first, Hamilton celebrated on his cool down lap. On this slow lap, he stopped by a marshal to take a Brazilian flag, and then he held the flag aloft as he completed the lap. However, in this process, Hamilton also undid his seat belts, which violated the International Sporting Code rule about safety belts. Hamilton was summoned to the stewards for a hearing, and it was announced that he was fined €5,000 for the incident. Additionally, if Hamilton violates this rule again before the end of 2022, he will be fined an additional €20,000. 

The Brazilian Grand Prix weekend was filled with excitement, and penalties majorly contributed to the excitement of the weekend. From fines for violating International Sporting Code to disqualifications and everything in between, penalties were a common occurrence this weekend in Brazil. 

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