George Russell has avoided a post-race penalty for breaking DRS rules at the Bahrain Grand Prix. That is despite the stewards confirming that there was an infringement and that he did indeed breach the rules by using the system at the wrong time during the race.
The DRS allows a flap to open in the rear wing of a Formula 1 car to allow more air to pass through, reducing wind resistance and making the car go faster. But it can only be used in certain areas of a circuit and only when a car is less than one second behind another.
But Russell was suffering with a malfunctioning Mercedes car in the latter stages of Sunday’s race. And, after pressing the radio button on his steering wheel, the DRS flap opened for a small amount of time when it should not have.
Speaking after the race, the Brit confirmed that it had happened. But he insisted that, to make up for it, he lifted off the accelerator and was adamant that he had lost more time doing that than he gained from the DRS flap opening.
And the stewards were happy with that outcome. After an investigation, they determined that Russell had breached the F1 sporting regulations but decided against giving the Brit a penalty. They said: “The connection between the automated DRS activation system and the car failed due to issues with a timing loop provided by an external party. Therefore the FIA authorised manual activation of the DRS.
“At the time, the driver was experiencing a brake-by-wire issue and other electronic issues. He was at that time advised to use an auxiliary button in the cockpit which serves as a back up radio button but also serves as a manual DRS activation button.
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“On the straight between turns 10 and 11 he tried to radio the team using this button but instead accidentally activated the DRS. The DRS was activated for a distance of 37 metres on a straight of approximately 700 metres.
“Whilst he gained 0.02 seconds, he gave up 0.28 seconds at the next corner to compensate. This was confirmed by telemetry. Accordingly whilst technically a breach occurred the stewards decide that as there was no sporting advantage gained, no penalty is imposed.”
Russell finished the race second, splitting the two McLaren drivers who joined him on the podium. Oscar Piastri secured his second victory of the season to narrow the gap to team-mate and championship leader Lando Norris to just three points, with the Brit finishing third.
Speaking afterwards, Russell said: “It felt all under control, but then we had a brake-by-wire failure, so the pedal was going long and then going short – I didn’t know what was going on. Then, the steering wheel wasn’t working properly, so it was really hard-fought to keep Lando behind. I think one more lap and he would have got me pretty comfortably, but I’m pretty pleased with P2.”
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