Red Bull has been handed a hefty fine following a near miss for Lando Norris during Free Practice 1 at the British Grand Prix.
Red Bull Racing have been slapped with a €20,000 fine as a result of Isack Hadjar’s near miss with Lando Norris during opening practice for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
The young Frenchman was in Sergio Perez’s car for FP1 but very nearly caused a major crash at the end of the session when he failed to move off the racing line ahead of Norris through Turn 2.
Hadjar had been cruising slowly on the racing line through Farm – the left-hander after Abbey, the highspeed right-hander that starts the lap – when Norris raced up behind him, locking his brakes in avoidance.
The junior driver quickly acknowledged his error both over the radio and via a wave to Norris on the Wellington Straight.
The incident was investigated by the stewards after the session and Garry Connelly, Matthew Selley, Enrique Bernoldi and Ian Watson decided to formally warn the driver while giving Red Bull a €20,000 fine.
A statement from the stewards said: “It was obvious that the driver was not given timely and appropriate warning of the approach of Car 4.
“The driver of Car 4 was forced to brake heavily and leave the track to avoid a collision. The Team of Car 37 conceded that it had not provided the necessary advice to its driver.
“The Stewards note that the penalty on the competitor is higher that that imposed for another impeding incident in this session. The reason for this is that this incident was regarded as more serious.”
Aston Martin also received a €15,000 fine after Lance Stroll was judged to have impeded Charles Leclerc inside the final 10 minutes of the opening practice session.
The Ferrari encountered the Aston Martin in the middle of the Maggotts/Becketts complex as the Canadian attempted to navigate the section at reduced speed. That saw him on the racing line as the Monesgaque arrived behind him.
Like Red Bull, Aston conceded they had not provided timely and adequate radio information to Stroll about Leclerc’s whereabouts but the team were fined less than Red Bull as the stewards deemed it to be a less serious incident.
The Stewards said: “The Team conceded that it had not provided timely and adequate radio information on the approach of Car 16. Car 16 was forced to take avoiding action.”
Stroll, like Hadjar, was also given a formal warning.
Also penalised was Pierre Gasly, who didn’t take part in the session. Jack Doohan was at the wheel of his car and logged 22 laps. However, since Free Practice 1, Alpine has elected to take a host of new power unit elements, which will result in a rear of grid start for the Frenchman.
“The use of each additional element in this case carries a 10 grid place penalty therefore there is an accumulation of 50 places,” stewards outlined.
“Article 42.3 d) of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations provides that an accrual of greater than 15 grid position penalties must start from the back of the grid.”
