Correa loses first podium for five years amid spate of track limits penalties

Juan Manuel Correa has lost his podium finish in today’s Formula 2 sprint race after he was handed a five second post-race time penalty.

He was one of eight drivers handed time penalties for exceeding track limits, five of which were issued after the race as a total of 60 infringements were recorded.

The DAMS driver originally took third place in the opening race of the weekend in Barcelona behind winner Victor Martins and Kush Maini in second.

During the race, second place driver Ritomo Miyata was hit with two separate five-second time penalties for exceeding track limits which dropped him to eighth. Zane Maloney also received 10 seconds for the same offence, while Roman Stanek was hit with five seconds added to his finishing time.

However, following an extensive post-race review by the stewards, several new further penalties were issued. Correa was given five seconds along with Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Rafael Villagomez. Maloney and Stanek received further five-second time penalties on top of those they already had, while Dennis Hauger and Franco Colapinto received 10-second penalties.

The post-race decisions means championship leader Paul Aron is promoted onto the podium in third, slightly extending his championship lead. Jak Crawford moves up to fourth, Gabriel Bortoleto is fifth ahead of Isack Hadjar, Miyata and Correa. Zak O’Sullivan and Josh Duerksen are promoted into the points in ninth and 10th respectively.

The penalty denies Correa his first podium in Formula 2 for five years. The 24-year-old last stood on the podium in the series alongside Anthoine Hubert at Paul Ricard in 2019, months before Hubert was killed and Correa seriously injured in a horrific crash in Spa-Francorchamps.

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Asked by RaceFans before news of the penalty about the spate of violations emerged, Correa said that track limits were “always an issue” at a circuit like Barcelona.

“I think the only solution is to put gravel closer to the white line,” Correa said in the post-race press conference. “Especially at this track, over the last sector, there’s a few places where it’s very difficult to judge from the inside of the car.

“Sometimes they put bananas [sausage kerbs] on the exit, but then that brings another issue of safety. So maybe the solution is just to get rid of track limits in certain corners or put the gravel closer.”

Correa’s rival Maini, who escaped without a penalty after only two violations over the 26 laps, had a more blunt view on the matter.

“It’s the same for everyone,” Maini said. “I think just lift more.”

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