Three Formula 1 stars received a penalty at the start of the Monaco weekend. Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc for being late, George Russell for speeding. Meanwhile, Liam Lawson got away with another black eye.
The regulators of the world motorsport association FIA took rigorous action on the first day in Monaco and imposed fines on world champion Lando Norris and local hero Charles Leclerc.
The reason: The McLaren driver and his Ferrari opponent were late for the official drivers’ press conference on Thursday. The duo justified this at a hearing on Friday morning with previous commitments that had taken longer than planned.
However, this was only a limited excuse for the regulators: they imposed fines of 5,000 euros each, which were initially suspended. If a similar violation of the rules occurs within the next twelve months, you will be asked to pay.
Russell “flashed” in the pit lane
George Russell wasn’t so lucky. The Mercedes driver was “flashed” in the pit lane during the first free practice session. Instead of the permitted maximum speed of 60 km/h, he was traveling slightly faster. It was measured at 60.3 km/h. The penalty for this offense: 100 euros.
Meanwhile, Liam Lawson got away with no punishment. He drove out of the pit lane a few seconds before the end of the first practice session and crossed the pit light, which had already turned red. According to his own statement, Lawson looked at the clock above the pit lane exit during his exit. This showed two seconds remaining. However, this clock is not part of the official timekeeping.
Because Lawson was only 0.8 seconds late in the end and emergency braking would have posed an even greater safety risk, the stewards turned a blind eye and let the RacingBulls driver get away unscathed.