FIA announce penalty verdict for FOUR F1 stars after Chinese Grand Prix

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Chinese Grand Prix

FIA announce penalty verdict for FOUR F1 stars after Chinese Grand Prix

Four drivers were punished by the FIA

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Sunday 23 March 2025 13:57

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Four Formula 1 stars were handed a warning by the FIA after the Chinese Grand Prix.

Nico Hulkenberg, Gabriel Bortoleto, Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon were all noted for practice start infringements, and they were all then handed verdicts once the race had finished.

In official FIA documents, all four drivers were found to have infringed on the rules, but were all only handed warnings for their misdemeanours.

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The drivers did not line up correctly in the right position in the pitlane for their practice starts during the reconnaissance laps, but it was determined by the FIA that their rule breaking was not dangerous, and didn't affect any other drivers.

Sauber's dismal weekend

While it will be a relief not to have had their two drivers handed a penalty for their misdemeanours, Sauber will be disappointed with their weekend's race results, following a promising seventh-place finish for Hulkenberg at the Australian GP.

In China, neither driver finished in the points in the sprint race, and then Hulkenberg and Bortoleto finished a lowly 17th and 18th respectively in the main race.

Rookie Bortoleto outqualified Hulkenberg in Australia in a strong start to his F1 career, but struggled in Shanghai, qualifying in 19th and then finding himself 30 seconds down on the rest of the pack after a first lap incident.

The race result was not affected by any of the four drivers' punishments handed out by the FIA.

OFFICIAL: FIA announce disqualification verdict for THREE F1 drivers at Chinese Grand Prix