Red Bull fined for “serious” Norris near-miss

In brief

Red Bull fined £16,900 and Hadjar warned after “serious” Norris near-miss

Red Bull junior driver Isack Hadjar received a formal warning from the British Grand Prix stewards after Norris narrowly avoided hitting him in yesterday’s first Formula 1 practice session.

The McLaren driver had to take avoiding action at Farm corner when he came across the Red Bull driver, who was running in Sergio Perez’s car for the session, driving slowly. Hadjar apologised over the radio to Norris and the team, admitting he had not seen the McLaren approaching.

After reviewing the incident, the stewards determined Hadjar “was not given timely and appropriate warning” of Norris and handed Red Bull a €20,000 (£16,900) fine for due to the incident being “more serious” than other examples of impeding. Hadjar was also handed a formal warning for his role.

In a separate incident, Lance Stroll was also given a formal warning with Aston Martin receiving a €15,000 fine after he got in the way of Charles Leclerc at Becketts in the same session.

Gasly to start at back

Pierre Gasly will start the British Grand Prix from the back of the grid after exceeding the maximum number of power unit components a driver may use.

Teams risk “destroying” drivers if promoted too young – Button

With 19-year-old Oliver Bearman being promoted into F1 with Haas next season and 17-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the frame for Mercedes’ vacant 2025 seat, 2009 world champion Jenson Button, who made his debut for Williams aged 20, says teams must be careful when signing very young drivers.

“I remember even Martin Brundle said ‘I think it’s too young for him’,” Button told media including RaceFans. “But it was right to say that. I was very young, I had hardly any testing because the engines kept blowing up, so I didn’t have enough mileage to get a superlicence, but they gave me it.

“I don’t think it was too early. I think you’ve got to take every opportunity when it comes to you. Especially for youngsters at 17, 18, 19 you can’t say ‘no’.

“They need to really think about what they’re doing to a driver in his career at that age. If he blossoms, great. But with the pressures that this sport brings, it can destroy a driver’s career as well. So there’s a real balance there and teams need to be careful with it.”

Conway…