Bizarre FIA punishment issued at Silverstone over rare incident at British GP

Photo: © IMAGO

British Grand Prix

Bizarre FIA punishment issued at Silverstone over rare incident at British GP

A bizarre punishment from the British Grand Prix weekend has emerged

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Monday 7 July 2025 20:28

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A bizarre FIA punishment was delivered during last weekend's British Grand Prix after an incident in the F2 feature race.

Alongside F1, three support series all raced at Silverstone with F2, F3 and F4 taking to the track for the first time all together, making history in Northamptonshire.

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However, it was in the F2 feature race on Sunday where a bizarre punishment was given to American driver Max Esterson.

When the Trident Motorsport driver came in for his mandatory pit stop, the ever-vigilant stewards noticed a team member changing the right rear tyre was not wearing the required eye protection.

While the incident may seem minor it was a clear breach of Article 28.11 of the Sporting Regulations which states: "The use of appropriate eye protection is compulsory."

The Trident team have been forced to pay a fine of €500 as a result of the infringement, with no sporting penalty imposed on Esterson.

Who is F2 and Trident star Max Esterson?

Esterson enjoyed a less conventional route into motorsports, with the American driver starting in sim racing at the age of 11, where he began to rank amongst the best sim racers in the world.

The 22-year-old started karting fairly late at the age of 16, but has continued to rise through the single-seater ranks including the Formula Ford Festival, GB3 Championship, Formula 3 and now Formula 2.

Despite picking up a victory in the 2022 GB3 championship, Esterson is yet to secure a podium in his F2 career and has failed to finish in the top 10 thus far in 2025.

Esterson is currently P20 and has zero points at the bottom of the F2 standings, only managing a P21 finish during Saturday's sprint and P13 in Sunday's feature race.

FIA British Grand Prix F2