Mercedes have been summoned to a hearing of the stewards at the Spanish Grand Prix, where their drivers finished second and third.
The team is under investigation for failing to follow the post-race procedures set down by the FIA media delegate. A representative of the team, plus the physiotherapists who attend to drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, have been called to a hearing at 6:30pm local time at the Circuit de Catalunya.The post-race guidance states – in bold lettering – that “driver physios must wait outside the cool down room behind the podium until the podium ceremony has concluded following the instructions given to all teams by the media delegate.”
All three podium finishers at last year’s Austrian Grand Prix – Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen and Hamilton – were found to have failed to follow the parc ferme instructions relating to their physiotherapists. The three teams involved – Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes respectively – were given suspended fines of €10,000 each, which were payable if they committed a similar offence before the end of the season.
Although none of them reoffended last year, Mercedes appears to be under investigation for a similar infraction.
The stewards told the three teams who broke the rules last year their physiotherapists’ paddock passes “may be revoked in case of systemic violation.”
The restriction on physiotherapists exists to ensure they cannot hand over items to the drivers before they are weighed, to ensure compliance with the rules.
Update: Mercedes fined for parc ferme violation but keep second and third places
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Jere (@jerejj)
4th June 2023, 17:45
So based on the previous precedent, only a financial sanction to the team is to be expected.
Jere (@jerejj)
4th June 2023, 18:09
As I expected.
Simon
4th June 2023, 18:23
A thousand thanks for the update
Schummel Schumi (@schummelschumi)
4th June 2023, 21:35
:D
Moi
4th June 2023, 18:05
I don’t follow… the drivers hug and jump on top of a dozen of their team after the race, but the fysios are somehow more of a risk or… Am I missing something here?
SteveP
4th June 2023, 18:57
Like many regs related to dodgy practices, this dates back to Schumacher – in this case allegations of lead weights being used to add weight.
Why they would include the cool down room and extend to the end of the podium ceremony is a mystery, given that the drinks in the cool down room could probably add a kilo or more and the drivers were weighed before they got to the room anyway.
I rank the stewards’ behaviour on this one alongside the penalising of drivers at Monaco for exceeding the pit lane speed by 5cm/second.
Trying to demonstrate their authority and actually managing to look more and more petty…
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
4th June 2023, 21:33
Yes, the drivers are weighed almost as soon as they get out of their car. They have to be weighed with their helmet, HANS device, gloves, etc. Often you can see them being weighed just before the post race interviews beside the cars are conducted. I just don’t see what the fuss is about, so what if a physio decided to ask a driver to carry a lead weight, e.g. 10 kg, into the Cool Down Room, how is that going to alter the weight the FIA have already recorded?
Yes (@come-on-kubica)
4th June 2023, 18:21
Give them a dq.
MGus.ai
4th June 2023, 19:08
seems appropriate – I would add a few races ban.
Tarn Burton (@yitzchak)
4th June 2023, 21:41
Clearly a 5% decrease in wind tunnel time also.
Crawliin-from-the-wreckage (@davedai)
5th June 2023, 0:29
Well they may believe that TD’s, mid-season rule changes may be seen as interference.
So they are are coming down
with a hammer blow with a feather to prove they are all over everything.
But is there something in the airo