RB fined for ‘potentially dangerous’ incident between Ricciardo and Magnussen · RaceFans

RB were fined £4,287 (€5,000) after stewards blamed them for an unusual but “potentially dangerous” incident.

Haas driver Kevin Magnussen had to take evasive action when he met the RB driven by Daniel Ricciardo after the pair took the checkered flag at the end of final practice. Magnussen landed on the grass on the route from Acque Minerali to Variant Alta at around 225 km/h and turned right to avoid Ricciardo.

The stewards acknowledged that this was not a typical case of one driver on a fast lap catching another on the in or out lap. “This means it is not classically ‘disabling’ as it did not prevent Magnussen from setting a fast time,” they noted.

“That’s why it’s understandable that Ricciardo drove slowly and prepared for the start of his training. It’s also completely within the rules for Magnussen to drive fast even after the checkered flag.”

The stewards also took into account the location of the incident, which occurred over the top of a hill. “There was no chance that Ricciardo would see Magnussen in time and vice versa,” they said.

“Ricciardo avoided his teammate Tsunoda, who was also maneuvering to prepare for the start of his training session. That meant that Ricciardo was close to the ideal line at that point.”

The situation was “even more unusual,” the stewards noted, as it occurred after a late restart of practice that made it impossible for some drivers to set another lap time.

Given the extenuating circumstances, the stewards decided to simply impose a fine on the team. “The stewards have previously imposed penalties for incidents during free practice, although these incidents all occurred before the checkered flag.”

“Given the circumstances, it was important for the team to adequately warn the stewards of a fast car, which they only managed to do when Magnussen was at the scene of the accident. This error caused a potentially dangerous situation.

“The stewards are of the view that there are a number of extenuating circumstances and that this situation is highly unusual, but that teams still have a duty of care, including after the checkered flag.”

“The stewards therefore impose a fine on the team, but given the extenuating circumstances, a significantly reduced fine compared to previous cases and no penalty for the driver.”

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