Published 12:37 IST, December 7th 2020
Mercedes handed €20,000 fine after huge Russell tyre mix-up blunder in Sakhir Grand Prix
Mercedes were handed a €20,000 fine after their tyre mix-up involving George Russell during the Sakhir Grand Prix was deemed as a breach of regulations.
The Sakhir Grand Prix proved to be one of the most exciting races in recent times, with Sergio Perez taking his maiden F1 victory after a dramatic end to the race. Mercedes, which has been on song for the entirety of the F1 schedule this season, performed a serious of operational mistakes during the Sakhir Grand Prix which robbed stand-in driver George Russell of a deserved victory. After the world championship-winning side was part of a dramatic tyre mix-up which saw race leader George Russell fitted with teammate Valtteri Bottas’ tires, the FIA has now announced that the team has been hit with a €20,000 fine.
Mercedes’ Sakhir Grand Prix blunder explained
The incident occurred during the Safety Car period in the Sakhir Grand Prix after the team called both the drivers to the pits for a change of tyres. However, the team managed to make a mess of the pit stops, after George Russell’s car was fitted with Valtteri Bottas’ tyres. After the team realized their mistake, George Russell was asked to come into the pits again for the right tyres, with the young British driver losing his chance at a maiden victory.
After the Sakhir Grand Prix, Mercedes revealed that it was a radio miscommunication issue that caused the mix-up. Team Principal Toto Wolff explained that one of the tyre crews didn’t hear the instructions after their radio failed during the race. Expounding further, Wolff said that as a result the team didn’t know that they had to change tyres, with the pit crew then ending up fitting incorrect tyres on George Russell’s car.
Mercedes fined after huge tyre mix up
The FIA after the race announced the Mercedes fined news, opting to go with a €20,000 fine rather than a disqualification. The stewards in a statement said that although the incident was a clear breach of regulations and would normally involve a sporting penalty up to disqualification, the “radio communications technical issue” means that the famous team gets away with a fine. Explaining their stance, the stewards referring to George Russell said that instead of penalizing the driver with a disqualification, they have decided to fine the team.
George Russell moves up to 18th in F1 standings
The fine means that George Russell will keep the three points he managed to collect during the Sakhir Grand Prix. Despite the mistakes made by his team, the youngster managed to finish P9, while also collecting the additional point for the fastest lap of the race. The result meant that George Russell finally moved away from the bottom of the F1 standings, climbing up to 18th place in the driver standings.
Image Credits: Mercedes AMG F1 Twitter
Updated 12:38 IST, December 7th 2020