Alfa Romeo has explained the pit stop mix-up which led to Zhou Guanyu being penalised twice.
The rookie was given a five-second time penalty for an incident with Alexander Albon early in the race, which he attempted to serve during a pit stop.
However the stewards ruled that the team did not follow the correct procedure for serving the penalty, an infringement which can lead to disqualification. The stewards decided instead to require Zhou to serve a drive-through penalty.
“The stewards reviewed the video evidence and determined that car 24 came into the pit lane and stopped,” they explained. “But thereafter, it was jacked up by the team. Article 54.4(c) requires that ‘whilst a car is stationary in the pit lane as a result of a penalty in accordance with Articles 54.3(a)… it may not be worked on until the car has been stationary for the duration of the penalty’,” the stewards continued.
Zhou cut the track to pass Albon“Although the team did not work on the car for five…