FIA announce Red Bull F1 star penalty verdict at Saudi Grand Prix

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FIA News

FIA announce Red Bull F1 star penalty verdict at Saudi Grand Prix

Liam Lawson has been in trouble with the stewards already in Jeddah

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Friday 18 April 2025 18:56 Updated: 22:45

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A star of Red Bull's junior Formula 1 team, Liam Lawson, has been handed an official FIA verdict, after an incident during practice for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Lawson is now racing with the brand's sister team Racing Bulls, having been dropped from the main Red Bull team after just two races of the 2025 season.

He is still yet to score a point in 2025, but has been gradually rebuilding his confidence alongside Isack Hadjar at the junior team, with Yuki Tsunoda instead now racing for Red Bull.

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Now, Lawson has been handed a warning and a reprimand by the race stewards after failing to follow race director's instructions twice during FP1 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

The young New Zealander 'entered the painted area between the pit entry and the track,' according to an official FIA statement.

While it means Lawson has escaped a sporting penalty for the Saudi Arabian GP weekend on this occasion, the reprimand is something that will be added to his record for the rest of the 2025 season.

How many reprimands does it take for a penalty in F1?

Lawson's reprimand is his first of the campaign, with drivers being allowed four in the season before incurring sporting penalties.

An official FIA reprimand is a step up from a warning, and upon the collection of a fifth reprimand, a driver is handed a 10-place grid penalty at that particular race weekend.

However, while reprimands can be handed out for both on-track and off-track infringements, a penalty will only be given if all four of the previous reprimands on a driver's record are driving reprimands.

The FIA confirmed in an official statement that Lawson had actually committed the same offence twice during FP1, saying: "It was made clear in the event notes that no part of the tyre must cross the line in any direction."

"There is no doubt that this prohibition was breached for a second time."

"We checked the team radio and it appears that despite the notification that the alleged breach was noted by race control at 16:48:30, the driver was not warned of this.

"There were at least three laps in between the first infringement and the second where the team could have reminded the driver of the prohibition in the race director’s event notes and it appears that they did not do so. This was confirmed by the team representative during the hearing."

"Notwithstanding the team’s decision not to warn the driver, the driver ought to know what is in the event notes and Lawson confirmed that he did know of the prohibition.

"Although this was during Free Practice, the Race Director’s event notes were clear and because this was a second infringement of a stated prohibition, we imposed a reprimand (driving)," the statement concluded.

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