George Russell was investigated by the F1 stewards after qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix, accused of breaking the new rule about impeding in the pit lane
George Russell received a two-place grid penalty for his actions during the Brazilian Grand Prix, which involved him blocking other drivers in the pit lane in violation of a new Formula 1 rule.
The British driver had placed sixth in Q3 while racing. He was supposed to start on the third row of the grid alongside his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who qualified one position ahead of him.
But the seven-time world champion will instead be lining up alongside Lando Norris for Sunday’s race. Russell was been dropped to eighth on the grid for getting in the way of Pierre Gasly in the pit exit during the session.
The race director filed a report on him for not adhering to the pre-event directives. It was instructed to drivers that they were not allowed to block other competitors in the pit lane by going too slowly.
They were allowed to make space for themselves in the pit exit on the track. However, Russell disregarded the explicit instruction to stay to the left so that others could pass if they so desired.
So when the matter was referred to the stewards, it seemed inevitable that a punishment was heading the Mercedes driver’s way. And it duly came several hours after the end of qualifying when it was announced that Russell had been dropped to eighth on the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Explaining the decision, the stewards wrote: “Car 63 [Russell] was driving slowly in the pit exit and was not as far to the left as possible. The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 63, the team representative and reviewed in-car video evidence.
“The Race Director’s Event Notes for this event included a specific clause (item 14) stating that it was allowed to go slow in the pit exit to create a gap before crossing the SC2 line, but that in doing so, a driver must stay as far to the left as possible to allow other drivers to pass on the right side. This was done to prevent situations similar to the ones that happened in Mexico.
“Russell was exiting the pits, preparing for an out lap. Russell went slow to create a gap for a clear lap, but did not manage to stay completely to the left. As a result, following car(s) were not able to overtake, as intended by the Race Director’s instructions. “This clearly violates the wording and the spirit of item 14 of the Race Director’s Event Notes.
Max Verstappen defeated Charles Leclerc to claim pole position for the Grand Prix. That came after the first fast laps of qualifying, but before anyone could attempt to overtake the Red Bull racer, a sudden storm ended the session early.