McLaren has been fined €1,000 after being found guilty of breaching the FIA's F1 Sporting Regulations during final practice for the British Grand Prix. A member of the Woking-based outfit's pit lane team crossed the white pit exit line to retrieve a cooling fan from Lando Norris' MCL60 in the early stages of the session. This earned McLaren a summons for allegedly breaching Articles 26.6 and 26.7 of the Sporting Regulations, which essentially dictate no team members may enter the live racing circuit. Finding McLaren guilty, the stewards' report read: "Car 4 was released by the team with a fitting from the garage still attached to the rear of the car and while the car was still in pit lane told the driver to stop the car. "The driver stopped the car at the very first safe location which was at the end of pit lane just past the pit exit line. The Stewards note that he was prevented from stopping earlier, prior to the pit exit line, because of photographers standing in the working area past the final team location. "The Stewards consider that releasing the car with a sizable part loose on the rear of the car was incorrect. However, the prompt action of the team to stop the car in the pit lane mitigated the potential unsafe condition and the Stewards therefore only issue a warning. "The team sent a mechanic to retrieve the part off the car. In doing so, he crossed the pit exit line and touched the stopped car and technically was on track when he did so. "Following that he then stepped to the front of the car and stopped the driver from proceeding until he signaled that it was safe to do so. "This section of the track at this venue is entirely safe, and so what he did was not unsafe, and indeed he ensured the safety of the other competitors by his actions. "However, the team did not seek or receive permission from Race Control to have personnel on the track, nor did the mechanic seek permission of the marshal on scene. "This has not happened recently in Formula 1, and in issuing a €1,000 fine the Stewards have considered in mitigation that the car was prevented from stopping before the line, and that the actions of the mechanic, while a clear breach of the regulations, were deemed safe at all times."
The Articles in question
Article 26.6 determines: "Save as specifically authorised by the Code or these Sporting Regulations, no one except the driver may touch a stopped car unless it is in the paddock, the Competitors’ designated garage area, the pit lane or on the starting grid." Article 27.7 reads: "During the period commencing 15 minutes prior to and ending five minutes after every practice session and the period between the commencement of the formation lap which immediately precedes the sprint session and the race and the time when the last car enters the parc fermé, no one is allowed on the track, the pit entry or the pit exit with the exception of: Marshals or other authorised personnel in the execution of their duty. Drivers when driving or on foot, having first received permission to do so from a marshal. Team personnel when either pushing a car or clearing equipment from the grid after all cars able to do so have left the grid on the formation lap. Team personnel when assisting marshals to remove a car from the grid after the start of the sprint session or the race.
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