Daniel Ricciardo has been given a three-place grid drop for the Miami Grand Prix for overtaking a rival during a Safety Car period.
The stewards ruled the RB driver overtook Nico Hulkenberg on lap 28. Ricciardo mistakenly believed he was allowed to take the position back after Hulkenberg passed the RB when he was hit by Lance Stroll at the end of the previous Safety Car period.
After speaking to both drivers, the stewards noted Ricciardo “admitted that he overtook car 27 [Hulkenberg] deliberately but he explained that he felt that he could do so because car 27 had overtaken him under Safety Car before on lap 28.”
The Safety Car was deployed a second time following the incident at turn 14. As he approached turn six Ricciardo told his team: “Let me pass Hulkenberg, yeah.”
His race engineer Pierre Hamelin replied: “Stand by, I’ll keep you posted.” But Ricciardo went past the Haas at turn six. “Ricciardo just overtook me,” Hulkenberg told his team. “Understood, we’ll report it,” replied his race engineer Gary Gannon.
The stewards ruled Hulkenberg had been allowed to pass Ricciardo when he was hit by Stroll “because of article 55.8.” This states, among other points, that a driver may overtake another during a Safety Car period if it “slows with an obvious problem”.
However “there was no justifiable basis for car three to overtake car 27 while the race was under Safety Car conditions,” they stated. “We accordingly imposed a 10-second time penalty on car three.”
Ricciardo subsequently retired from the race due to the damage caused by Stroll. “As car three was unable to serve the penalty due to retirement, we imposed a three grid-place penalty to car three for the next race in which the driver participates,” the stewards explained.
As sprint races are referred to as “sprint sessions” and not “races” in the regulations, Ricciardo’s penalty will apply to his starting position on the grid for the Miami Grand Prix, not the sprint race before it.
Ricciardo’s sanction is applied differently to that of Fernando Alonso, who also received a 10-second time penalty in yesterday’s sprint race before retiring, but was not given a grid drop instead. In their reasoning the stewards said the language governing how these penalties are imposed during sprint races “is somewhat unclear” and advised the FIA to amend the regulations.
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