F1 team suffer DOUBLE BLOW as FIA issues summons for driver pair at US GP

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US Grand Prix

F1 team suffer DOUBLE BLOW as FIA issues summons for driver pair

The stewards have summoned an F1 driver duo at COTA

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Friday 18 October 2024 23:28 Updated: 01:39

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An F1 team has suffered a double blow as the FIA have issued summons for a pair of drivers at the United States Grand Prix.

The F1 grid have had little time to prepare for the first qualifying session of the weekend at COTA, with the sprint race restricting them to one session of running in FP1.

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Red Bull look set to remedy their performance woes, and have brought with them updates to Austin to help Max Verstappen win his first race since the Spanish GP.

However, the two Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc seemed to have the edge on the Dutchman, with the pair leading FP1 in P1 and P2 respectively.

Carlos Sainz topped the table during FP1 at COTA

Williams pair summoned by FIA at US GP

Instead of a second practice session, Sprint Qualifying replaces FP2 on Friday as the grid fight it out for pole for Saturday's Sprint around COTA.

Yet, one team have received a blow to their weekend, as the Williams pair of Franco Colapinto and Alex Albon have been summoned to the stewards following a breach in Austin.

Both Williams drivers were summoned by the stewards

Both drivers failed to attend the drivers’ meeting at the scheduled time and as a result have been summoned to see the stewards.

Thankfully for the team, neither they nor the driver received a penalty for the breach, after it became clear that both Colapinto and Albon had tried and failed to attend the virtual video meeting due to difficulty with the technology.

The Williams drivers had a tense moment at the previous race in Singapore, after Colapinto dive-bombed down the inside of Albon on lap one leaving his team-mate frustrated with his actions.

However, team boss James Vowles remains pleased with his line-up, with Colapinto impressing on his debut in F1.

Red Bull Max Verstappen Ferrari FIA United States Grand Prix