Kimi Raikkonen and Daniel Ricciardo have both hit with grid penalties for the start of the Canadian Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
The stewards found that both drivers had breached pit lane protocol, that warranted them being penalised with a two place drop each. However, with the drivers having to start alongside each other on the 5th row of the grid originally and the way the penalties are being imposed, each driver will effectively lose only a single place each.
Kimi Raikkonen will now start from 10th place on the grid and Ricciardo will start from 11th. Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg who would have started 11th, will now start from 9th despite having originally missed Q3.
Here is the revised grid for the start of the Canadian Grand Prix.
Five drivers were summoned to explain their actions to the stewards following the chaotic Q2 restart after the red flag for Felipe Massa’s accident. Raikkonen and Ricciardo, Jean-Eric Vergne, Pastor Maldonado and Sergio Perez were all called in to answer for their actions – all five of them cited for allegedly breaching Article 23.6 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations.
Drivers countered allegations that they had not started from the “fast lane” of the pit exit with the defence that they had intended to make practice starts from the left hand side of the pit lane, which is permitted in the rules.
The stewards accepted the defence but stated that they still needed to leave in the order they arrived in the pit lane so Raikkonen – who left 2nd after arriving 4th, and Ricciardo who left 4th after arriving 6th, were still left with a two place penalty each.
Raikkonen also had to explained why he swerved around Mark Webber to overtake him in the queue as we all saw at the restart.
According to the stewards’ statement, “The driver claimed he intended to make a practice start from the left hand side of the pit exit, as permitted. The driver claimed he was unduly delayed by Car 2 [Webber].”
“Car 2 did remain stationary for almost 2 seconds following the start of Q3 and the Stewards conclude in the circumstances this qualifies as ‘unduly delayed,'” read their statement, concluding that no further action would be taken regarding the matter.
Raikkonen’s penalty is served first, dropping him from 9th to 11th behind Hulkenberg. Ricciardo’s penalty is then served dropping him from 9th to 11th meaning that they each effectively only lose one spot.
Click here to see the revised grid for the start of the Canadian Grand Prix.
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