Chinese Grand Prix: F1 team issue official statement after FIA announce punishment

Photo: © IMAGO

Chinese Grand Prix

F1 team issue official statement after FIA announce punishment

Williams have responded to being hit with a penalty at the Chinese Grand Prix

Originally written by Sam Cook. This version is a translation.

Sunday 23 March 2025 03:00

Williams Formula 1 team have released an official statement after they were hit with an FIA punishment for failing to provide rear-wing camera footage at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Flexi wings are the talk of the F1 paddock at present and the FIA is continuing to monitor the issue in China, including by using cameras on cars. However, Williams failed to provide footage of their rear wing after FP1 on Friday.

The British team blamed this on 'miscommunication' within their internal processes, but that has not saved them from being slapped with a €50,000 fine. €40,000 of this was suspended until December 31, 2025.

Williams respond to FIA punishment

Article continues under video

Following the news that they would receive punishment for their error, Williams released an official team statement on social media, confirming that they had nothing to hide in terms of wing legality and that it was a genuine error.

"We had concerns over the cameras not working in FP1, and as a result were in dialogue with the FIA throughout the session," the official statement read.

"For completeness, we provided all footage as requested in Melbourne with no issue and will continue to support the FIA and provide all required footage in a timely manner going forwards.

"We have no concerns over the legality of our wing. It is the same wing we ran in Melbourne, is fully compliant and we did not have to make any adjustments further to the issuing of the new TD [technical directions]. Yesterday’s issue was procedural, and we are confident that we will provide all future recordings without issue.

"We understand that to ensure fair policing of technical regulations the FIA issued the resulting fine and we thank them for the constructive conversations and measured handling of this matter."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Williams Racing (@williamsracing)

Written by

Sam Cook - Digital Journalist

Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.

View full biography

FIA Williams Chinese Grand Prix