Frustrated Sargeant calls Shanghai penalty points decision “a joke” · RaceFans

Logan Sargeant said the two penalty points he received on his superlicence in Shanghai for an illegal overtake were “extremely frustrating”.

The Williams driver was hit with a 10-second time penalty after the Chinese Grand Prix for illegally passing Nico Hulkenberg while the Safety Car was deployed.

After an investigation, the stewards determined Hulkenberg had crossed Safety Car Line Two on his way out of the pit lane a split-second before Sargeant, meaning the Williams driver should have yielded his position to the Haas driver. Alongside the time penalty, the stewards also gave Sargeant two penalty points on his superlicence, putting him on a total of eight, four away from earning an automatic one-race suspension.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix, Sargeant’s home event, he expressed his unhappiness over the Shanghai penalty.

“Mine was extremely frustrating,” he said. “I think the penalty is one thing, to get penalty points for what it was, was a bit of a joke.”

Sargeant’s two penalty points were as many as Lance Stroll received for crashing into Daniel Ricciardo’s RB during the same Safety Car period.

“I think a lot worse things happen throughout the weekend that you just get reprimanded for,” Sargeant continued. “I’ve had people in qualifying slow down in front of me, nearly have huge crashes, and nothing happens.

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“But then when I cross the line at the same time as someone else and you can’t even see it, you get two penalty points. I think it’s not a great direction to be heading in.”

The number of penalty points issued over the first five rounds of this season has increased sharply compared to last year: 18 have been handed out so far compared to two in 2023. Red Bull driver Sergio Perez, who like Sargeant is also on eight penalty points, believes the sport needs to review how they are allocated for incidents.

“I think that the penalties, sometimes you already pay the consequences for that,” said Perez. “To add some penalty points – given that we have now more races – I think it’s something that definitely should be looked at.

“Every incident, if you see of all the points that every driver gets, there are a lot of points that are probably over the line. The rule is there but hopefully in the future it’s something that can be reviewed.”

Another driver who…