Austrian Grand Prix race results undergo change

Eight drivers received post-race penalties as a result of the FIA’s “well over 1,200” instances of possible track limits violations during the Austrian Grand Prix.

The Austrian Grand Prix weekend saw track limits violations emerge as a controversial topic; as a result, no fewer than seven drivers were issued time penalties during the race on Sunday and an additional eight received post-race sanctions.

A whopping 1,200 instances of probable track limits violations were examined by the FIA after the race before coming to their conclusions, resulting in the deletion of 83 lap times overall.

A significant number of drivers on the grid have now had extra time added to their racing time after the FIA indicated in a statement that they will be investigating any possible infringement of track limits. As a result, eight drivers have received the following penalties for numerous violations:

• Carlos Sainz – 10 seconds
• Lewis Hamilton – 10 seconds
• Pierre Gasly – 10 seconds
• Alex Albon – 10 seconds
• Esteban Ocon – 30 seconds (combination of 2 x 10-second penalties and 2 x 5-second penalties)
• Logan Sargeant – 10 seconds
• Nyck de Vries – 15 seconds (combination of 10-second and 5-second penalties)
• Yuki Tsunoda – 5 seconds

Several of these drivers already served in-race sanctions during the Austrian Grand Prix, therefore all of these penalties are in addition to what they already received there.

The podium finishers are still present, but everything else has changed. Lando Norris and Fernando Alonso move up into the top five as Carlos Sainz drops two spots to sixth, while Lewis Hamilton and Pierre Gasly also lose ground in the classification.

Due to the high number of track restrictions complaints during the race, Aston Martin filed a protest of the Austrian Grand Prix results. The protest was upheld, and as a result of the FIA’s investigation, the team was awarded three more Constructors’ Championship points.

The FIA recommended installing a gravel trap at Turns 9 and 10, the last two corners of the Red Bull Ring, where the bulk of violations occurred over the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, as a preventative measure.

“During the Grand Prix, Race Control was tasked with reviewing well over 1,200 instances where a car was reported as potentially leaving the track,” an FIA spokesperson said. “The results will be updated once the review of those which were not able to be reviewed during the race is complete.

“In order to address the issue for future events we will renew our recommendation to the circuit to add a gravel trap at the exit of Turns 9 and 10.

“We note that while this is not a straightforward solution in relation to other series that race here, it has proved to be very effective at other corners and circuits with similar issues.”

Austrian Grand Prix – Full race results after Aston Martin’s protest