Why were there 35,000 euros in fines after the race? 13 answers to the Canadian GP

1. Did Lando Norris lose because of the safety car?

The preliminary decision for victory in Canada was definitely made on lap 25. Almost everyone at the front stopped under the first safety car, except Lando Norris. He had just taken the lead and Red Bull already seemed unassailable. But by waiting a lap to change to new intermediates, he gave Max Verstappen and George Russell the first two places. Red Bull was happy about a Miami revenge, but had Norris really already passed the pit entrance when the safety car was called out?

The answer is no. Norris was in the braking zone of turn 13, directly before the pit exit. One and a half seconds before the decisive point. “Looking back, we could have told the driver to stop in the event of a safety car,” admits team boss Andrea Stella. “Then he could have reacted instinctively.” Because of Logan Sargeant’s accident, the safety car was foreseeable long in advance. Norris had to ask first, and then it was already too late.

McLaren points out that a change was not obvious due to the uncertain weather conditions. If Norris had stopped, Verstappen could have stayed out. But that is making them reconsider their decision. “We would have come in anyway because our tires were worn out,” says Christian Horner. That was not the case for McLaren because they had saved a lot of tires at the start of the race.

2 Why did Russell complain about Norris’s run-out at Turn 1?

Later in the race, Norris once again came under the scrutiny of George Russell and the stewards. On lap 42, he misjudged the position behind Russell in turn 1 and took a shortcut. As instructed by the race director, he drove through the asphalt run-off area and returned to the track after turn 2. Almost exactly at the moment when Russell passed the spot. “I had to swerve, I lost one and a half seconds!” he immediately complained.

Did McLaren & Mercedes give away the victory? Red Bull punished (16:41 min.)

The data confirms: Russell lost 1.5 seconds to Verstappen, Norris came slightly closer to him, and Oscar Piastri did too. The stewards looked into the case but decided against a penalty. Norris did not gain any position, and the mistake did not happen while defending. Only the changes in the relative gaps between Verstappen, Russell, Norris and Piastri were not enough to see an advantage gained in the Norris maneuver.

3. What caused the fuss at Alpine this time?

Both cars in the points, but the mood at Alpine is still bad. Because Esteban Ocon had to wave Pierre Gasly through on lap 69. In fact, the request came one lap earlier. The argument was that this would allow Gasly to attack Daniel Ricciardo. Ocon was reluctant because he had no guarantee that Gasly would give back the position if he failed. In the end, he gave in. He did not get the position back. He does not understand the reason: “We were 2.5 seconds behind Daniel. Not even a Red Bull can make up that much in one lap.”

4. Why did Lewis Hamilton get hard tyres 16 laps before the end?

Canada was not the race of Lewis Hamilton. He castigates himself for his numerous mistakes, but he also spares his team from criticizing their strategy. Mercedes stopped him under the second safety car, but gave him hard tyres despite only 16 laps remaining. “If I had known that we weren’t going to go medium, I would have preferred to stay out,” complains Hamilton.

But the strategists’ hands were tied. They had only brought one medium into the race. It was burned up in the previous stint. Soft (here the C5) was still too risky at that point. And if Hamilton hadn’t been stopped, George Russell, who was also coming in with a new medium, would have fallen behind him. A tricky situation.

5. How bad was Charles Leclerc’s defect?

Ferrari and Charles Leclerc experienced a disaster in Canada. They were stuck in the midfield, with Leclerc never getting past ninth place. The team confirmed a defect after the race, but gave no details. Only that it was not the combustion engine and that 80 hp were missing. Leclerc spent the entire first stint trying to adjust the steering wheel, which made it even more difficult and slowed him down even more. Only a “hard reset” during a 24.19-second pit stop solved the problem.

6. Why did Leclerc continue to use slicks in the rain?

Ferrari’s decision to leave Leclerc out after that, despite another shower of hard slicks, was met with much derision. His efforts to demand an inter-stop were pacified by the pits for almost two laps. Looking back, however, Leclerc defends himself: “I was more frustrated by the whole situation with the engine. If it had worked, it would have been our only chance to finish maybe ninth or tenth.” Because of the long stop, he was already in last place, well behind.

7. Why did both Ferrari drivers retire early?

For Leclerc it was clear on lap 40. After switching to intermediates he was lapped, caught in the middle of the leading group, nothing made sense anymore. Carlos Sainz crashed with Alex Albon a few laps later, but was actually able to stop for repairs under the safety car. But Ferrari pulled the ripcord after looking at his rear. The contact with Albon had damaged the rear wing and underbody, so there was no point in continuing to drive.

8. Why did Sergio Perez also receive a grid penalty for Spain?

Like Sainz, Sergio Perez came to the pits with a broken car after an accident. But Perez and Red Bull were given a hard time with the rule book. A 25,000 euro fine for the team, three grid places for Perez in Spain. The reason: Even though the rear wing was hanging dangerously loose on the RB20, Red Bull asked him to come back to the pits. They did not want to endanger Max Verstappen’s lead by deploying a safety car. Allowing a car that was obviously losing parts to continue driving like this is an absolute no-go for the FIA stewards.

9. Why did Yuki Tsunoda cost the Racing Bulls a 10,000 Euro fine?

After the race, the FIA demanded a further 10,000 euros in fines. Namely from the Racing Bulls. An embarrassing scheduling error will prove expensive for the team. The team had not informed Yuki Tsunoda about the timing of the Canadian anthem before the start. As a result, Tsunoda arrived late. The stewards complained that “attending the national anthem is an important element of the pre-race procedure and a sign of respect for the host country.” Tsunoda at least sprinted to his place after he was informed and thus avoided a warning.

10. Why was Ricciardo’s false start punished (so laxly)?

Despite a five-second penalty, Daniel Ricciardo finished eighth in Canada. The stewards caught him rolling into the starting box when the lights were already on. But only slightly – which was clearly visible from the onboard computer because of the profile of the intermediates. Because it was only slight, he received an unusually mild penalty of 5 seconds. “No significant sporting advantage was gained,” said the stewards. Side note: After Lando Norris made a real jump before the start in Saudi Arabia, but the starting box sensors did not report a false start, the regulations were adjusted here. Now the sensors are no longer decisive.

11. Why were the Canadian organizers investigated?

The Octane Racing Group, the organizer of the Canadian GP, escaped a hefty fine. A large group of spectators entered the track at several points while cars were still on the road. When summoned before the stewards, the organizers admitted that the situation was unacceptable and a violation of the international sporting code. They are now obliged to submit a new safety concept to the FIA by September 30. If it happens again, there will be a “significant financial penalty.”

12. Why did both Sauber cars start from the pits?

For Sauber, the race went downhill long before the start. Another double exit in Q1, and as a desperate act the team installed a larger rear wing on both cars overnight to have more downforce available in the rain. This was a parc ferme violation, so both started from the pits. “It was the right decision, but our performance ultimately did not allow us to fight for the top 10,” was the bitter admission of team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi.

Sauber duo Valtteri Bottas ahead of Guanyu Zhou

Sauber drove a race in the middle of nowhere in Canada, Photo: LAT Images

13. Why was Zhou already two laps behind when the second safety car was deployed?

While Valtteri Bottas at least kept up somewhat, Zhou Guanyu dropped completely. He was the only one lapped during the second safety car, which is described as “Lapped car [Einzahl] may lap back” triggered a particularly depressing message. Zhou was already two laps behind – how was that even possible? Not only because he complained about constantly sliding and not having confidence in the C44. On top of that, something went wrong when changing to slicks under the green flag. Zhou was only 42.26 seconds behind.