Raikkonen stripped of Imola points after bizarre restart infringement
Raikkonen stripped of Imola points after bizarre restart infringement
Kimi Raikkonen has lost the two points he earned at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix after being handed a 30-second penalty for an infringement ahead of the red-flag restart.
The 2007 world champion spun behind the safety car after the red-flag period caused by Valtteri Bottas and George Russell's frightening incident mid-race, taking up a position at the rear of the field.
Unlike last season's standing restarts, FIA race director Michael Masi chose to get the action back underway with a rolling start, a decision seemingly made with caution due to the wet-dry conditions at Imola.
After the spin, Raikkonen would have been permitted to regain his lost positions before the first safety car line.
But, as has transpired, the Finn was told to remain at the back of the pack by his team, triggering what should have been a stop-go penalty - converted to a 30-second penalty due to the decision coming post-race.
A stewards document read: "The stewards heard from the driver of car 7 (Kimi Raikkonen), and the team representative and reviewed multiple angles of video evidence, telemetry and team radio.
"On the lap before the re-start following the race suspension, Raikkonen spun at turn 3. Art 42.6 indicates that the driver may retake his position, so long as he does so prior to the first safety car line (SC1).
"At first the team instructed him to do so, but then told him to hold his position. Art 42.6 then indicates that should a driver fail to take his position he must enter the pit lane and can only re-join the race once the whole field has passed the pit exit.
"Art 42.12 indicates that during a rolling start, once the safety car turns its lights out, 'No driver may overtake another car on the track until he passes the Line...'
"In this case, the driver caught up to the cars ahead of him between turn 13 and 14, but the safety car turned its lights out at approximately turn 10.
"This would appear to be a contradictory instruction and the team instructed the driver to not regain his position, fearing that this would create a safety issue in the wet conditions.
"They radioed the race director, but there was no time for a response between their call and the restart.
"The stewards consider it to be a further contradiction that when the cars are behind the safety car during a safety car period, they are prohibited from passing, but when they are behind the safety car for a restart, they are permitted to – even though the reasons for a rolling start are that the track conditions don’t permit a standing start."
Further explaining the action taken by the stewards, the document explains the regulation has been applied consistently over a number of seasons.
The report continues: "The rule requiring a car to enter the pit lane if it fails to regain its position is consistent amongst several championships, has been in the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations for several years and has been consistently applied.
"The penalty is a mandatory penalty, and therefore the Stewards consider that they have no alternative than to apply this penalty for reasons of consistency."
The decision could cost Alfa Romeo millions in prize money by the end of the season, as the points earned in what was a frenetic race could be the difference between eighth and 10th.
Raikkonen's penalty also promoted Fernando Alonso into the top 10, earning the Spaniard his first points since returning to the sport with Alpine.
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Motorsport chief SLAMS F1 over Red Bull
- 30 minutes ago
Former F1 boss makes SHOCKING Verstappen declaration
- 1 hour ago
Former F1 boss says Red Bull 'rethink' underway amid Horner saga
- 2 hours ago
F1 News Today: Horner investigation TOLL on Verstappen revealed as question marks arise over Hamilton Ferrari switch
- Today 05:57
Horner accuser 'angry and upset' over Red Bull SNUB as Perez bemoans lack of clarity - GPFans F1 Recap
- Yesterday 23:57
F1 fans provide SHOCK reaction to Verstappen Australian GP comments
- Yesterday 22:57
F1 Race Calendar
-
GP BAHRAIN
29 Feb - 2 Mar
Max Verstappen
-
GP SAUDI ARABIA
7 - 9 Mar
Max Verstappen
- GP AUSTRALIA 22 - 24 Mar
- GP JAPAN 5 - 7 Apr
- GP CHINA 19 - 21 Apr
- GP USA 3 - 6 May
- GP ITALY 17 - 19 May
Related news
F1 team to change names between races in 2024
‘If Shrek was in F1’ - Fans BLAST team’s new 2024 car
F1 team announce SIGNING of 'remarkable' driver ahead of 2024 season
F1 team hint new livery with Drake video tease
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860