Yahoo Autos UPDATE: Mercedes fined over parc ferme breach
Mercedes has been fined €10,000 ($10,700) for a breach of parc ferme regulations relating to Lewis Hamilton and George Russell’s physiotherapists in the Spanish Grand Prix.
The FIA has been clamping down on driver physiotherapists in parc ferme over the last year, with a document released ahead of each race outlining the post-race procedures highlighting the fact that, “Driver physios must wait outside the cool-down room behind the podium until the podium ceremony has concluded following the instructions given to all teams by the Media Delegate.”
In Austria last year, the physiotherapists for the top three of Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen and Hamilton were all found to have breached the instructions, leading to suspended €10,000 fines at the time. Those fines expired at the end of last season, but Mercedes is the first team to be summoned for a similar topic since.
More Formula 1!
Verstappen cruises to Spanish GP win as Mercedes completes the podium
Steiner reprimanded for stewards outburst
Leclerc to start Spanish Grand Prix from pit lane
“The Stewards received a report from the Media Delegate, which was subsequently confirmed by video evidence, that the physios / drivers’ assistants of Cars 44 and 63 entered parc ferme in violation of the Post Race Interview and Podium Ceremony Procedure that was published prior to the race ‘for the orderly conduct of the event’.
“Article 9.15.1 of the FIA International Sporting Code places the responsibility for the actions on the part of any person providing a service, on the Competitor to whom the service is provided.”
As part of last year’s incident in Austria, the FIA warned that team personnel could lose accreditation for regular breaches as it looks to eradicate the practice of drivers interacting with their physiotherapists prior to the end of the podium procedure. However, the stewards again opted for a fine on this occasion.
