Twelve drivers warned for causing safety car restart pile-up

Tuscan Grand Prix

Twelve drivers warned for causing safety car restart pile-up

Sainz, Giovinazzi, Magnussen and Latifi all crashed out

Ian Parkes

Sunday 13 September 2020 20:27

Stewards have issued a warning to 12 drivers for failing to exercise caution that resulted in a pile-up during the Tuscan Grand Prix.

Following a seven-lap safety car period following a lap-one incident that led to Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly crashing out, race leader Valtteri Bottas backed up the pack emerging out of the final corner and onto the long start-finish straight.

While the Mercedes driver followed the regulations and did not start racing until the control line, those further back in the pack had started to do so as they responded to numerous signals.

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It led to a concertina-effect accident that took out Alfa Romeo's Antonio Giovinazzi, Kevin Magnussen in his Haas, McLaren's Carlos Sainz and Williams' Nicholas Latifi.

Unable to find anyone "wholly or predominantly to blame", the quartet have all been warned, along with AlphaTauri's Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull's Alex Albon, Racing Point duo Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez, Renault pair Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon, Lando Norris of McLaren and Williams' George Russell, the stewards have issued warnings.

Explaining their decision, a stewards' statement read: "The stewards heard from the drivers of car 10 [Magnussen], car 6 [Latifi], car 26 [ Kvyat], team representatives, reviewed video evidence including car onboard cameras, and examined the telemetry of each car involved in the restart.

"The stewards conclude that the root cause of this incident was the inconsistent application of throttle and brake, from the final corner along the pit straight, by the above drivers.

"The stewards acknowledge the challenges the location of the control line presents at this circuit and the desire of drivers to take advantage of the restart.

"However, this incident demonstrates the need for caution to be exercised in the restart situation and note that there was an extreme concertina effect which dramatically increased as it moved down the field.

"We also note that some drivers might have avoided being involved in the incident had they not followed directly behind the car in front. By doing so they effectively blocked off all visibility of what was happening immediately in front of the preceding car.

"A warning has been imposed as it is the view of the stewards that no one driver was wholly or predominantly to blame."

Exonerating Bottas, the stewards added: "It was further noted that the driver of car 77 (Bottas) and the other drivers involved in the restart not mentioned above, complied with the regulations.

"Car 77 had the right under the regulations to dictate the pace. "