McLaren has been fined €10,000 by Italian Grand Prix stewards following an investigation involving Max Verstappen.
During qualifying at Monza, the stewards noted an unsafe release of Oscar Piastri, nearly causing Verstappen to crash into the pit-wall as he took avoiding action.
McLaren was summoned as a result, with the stewards declaring that a unsafe release had happened, promptly fining the team, who had locked-out the front-row, the five-figure amount.
Piastri claimed that he could not see Verstappen coming down the pit-lane owing to the angle of the car at the time, and that he placed importance on the signal of the mechanic guiding him out of the garage.
But McLaren admitted that the mechanic "misjudged" the situation in waving Piastri out.
Verstappen branded it an "optimistic" move, but Piastri keeps his second place on the grid with Verstappen seventh.
The full stewards verdict is available to read below.
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McLaren stewards verdict in full
The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 81 (Oscar Piastri), the driver of Car 1 (Max Verstappen), team representatives and reviewed video and in-car video evidence.
The driver of Car 81 stated that whilst leaving the pit garage he checked as best he could, for cars coming down pit lane but noted that visibility from the cockpit is severely limited due to the angle of the car. He stated he therefore needed to rely on the signal from his mechanic, and when he was given the signal to leave, he pulled into the fast lane. He did not see Car 1 until it appeared in his mirrors when he was in the fast lane.
The McLaren team representative admitted that the mechanic had misjudged the situation and that the error belonged to the Team.
The driver of Car 1 stated that he saw the mechanic waving out Car 81 and thought that this was a “very optimistic” move.
The Red Bull representative stressed that the mechanic should be focussing on the movement of cars in the pit lane and the Stewards noted from the pit lane CCTV video that in this case the focus appeared to be more on Car 81 than cars in pit lane.
Having noted precedents for this type of breach, the Stewards are of the view that this breach warrants a more severe penalty than previously applied hence the penalty above is imposed.
Competitors are reminded that they have the right to appeal certain decisions of the Stewards, in accordance with Article 15 of the FIA International Sporting Code and Chapter 4 of the FIA Judicial and Disciplinary Rules, within the applicable time limits.
Decisions of the Stewards are taken independently of the FIA and are based solely on the relevant regulations, guidelines and evidence presented.
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