FIA announce penalty verdict after F1 driver brings pit-lane chaos to rivals

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Spanish Grand Prix

FIA announce penalty verdict after F1 driver brings pit-lane chaos to rivals

Franco Colapinto was knocked out early in qualifying

Chris Deeley

Saturday 31 May 2025 22:04

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The FIA have announced a stewards' decision after an incident in qualifying which caused low-grade chaos.

Franco Colapinto was waiting at the exit of the pit lane to start his final run in Q1 when he radioed to his team that his car was refusing to pull away, leaving him more or less stranded.

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The Argentine had a long queue of cars behind him wanted to get out on their own hot laps, all of whom ended up manoeuvring around him and completing their out laps in time to set a final lap time.

Colapinto himself wasn't so lucky though, crawling past the pit exit line and pulling over to the right-hand side of the exit road to end his session in unceremonious style.

Stewards: No further action on Colapinto incident

The stewards looked into Colapinto and his team's actions for 'allegedly leaving the pit lane while facing a technical issue with the car', but decided quickly that there was no case to be answered, and no further action to be taken.

In an FIA statement, they wrote: "The Stewards reviewed video, team radio and in-car video evidence and determined that Car 43 faced a technical issue with the car while in the fast lane of Q1. The team and driver attempted to resolve the issue but failed to do so after a few attempts. The driver then pulled over to the right hand side of the pit exit road, after crossing the pit exit line and exited the car.

"We did not consider that any rule or regulation had been infringed by the conduct of the team or driver in attempting to resolve the technical issue, notwithstanding the fact that they ultimately failed to do so.

"We accordingly took no further action."

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Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton FIA Spanish Grand Prix Franco Colapinto