F1 penalty chaos as 12 drivers handed shock punishments - On This Day

Three years ago today, Max Verstappen cruised to victory at the Red Bull Ring, but the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix will forever be remembered not for the racing at the front, but for the extraordinary scenes that unfolded after it.

Verstappen led from pole to flag in what was his seventh win of the season and Red Bull's 10th consecutive grand prix victory. 

Charles Leclerc finished second, 5.1 seconds adrift, while Sergio Perez recovered superbly from 15th on the grid to complete the podium. 

A Virtual Safety Car period, triggered by Nico Hulkenberg's early retirement, briefly injected intrigue when Ferrari double-stacked Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, handing Leclerc temporary track position. It mattered little. 

Verstappen dispatched the Monegasque into Turn 3 with trademark efficiency and never looked back, even pitting late for fresh rubber and setting the fastest lap on the final lap.

But what happened after the chequered flag was unprecedented.

The protest that blew the penalty lid off

Aston Martin lodged a protest against the provisional race classification, arguing that race control had failed to process all track limits infringements during the 71 laps. Their suspicion proved well-founded. 

The Red Bull Ring's fast final corners, Turns 9 and 10, had generated over 1,200 potential track limits cases, an impossible volume for race control to police in real time.

The stewards upheld the protest and conducted an extended review. Additional, previously unprocessed infringements were uncovered, and retrospective time penalties were applied to 12 drivers. 

The stewards used an escalation system: five seconds for four infringements, 10 seconds for five, with a reset mechanism due to the sheer volume. Esteban Ocon was hit hardest, receiving a cumulative 30 seconds in penalties and dropping from 12th to 14th. 

Sainz fell from fourth to sixth, Hamilton dropped from seventh to eighth, and Pierre Gasly slid behind Lance Stroll.

Verstappen was among those calling the policing of track limits "a joke," while Lando Norris joined in labelling the penalties "stupid." Their frustration was widely shared across the paddock.