George Russell has avoided a grid penalty for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after being summoned for an alleged yellow flag infringement in Baku.
Russell was summoned to the stewards almost three hours after the end of qualifying around the Baku City Circuit.
It noted the Mercedes driver had allegedly failed to slow significantly while passing through yellow flags during Q1.
Russell progressed through the first two qualifying outings and ended the session in fifth place.
The two-time race winner has retained the position for the race as he was handed a reprimand, with the stewards noting it was a similar situation to Charles Leclerc's investigation from earlier in the day.
However, it highlighted some key differences and suggested the situation should be discussed at the next drivers' meeting, with Saturday's decisions not setting a precedent for future instances.
Stewards' verdict on Russell in full
This was a very similar case to the decision of this panel of Stewards regarding Charles Leclerc (document 29) with some important differences. Sainz ran into the runoff at Turn 2. Russell was the next car on track and was fully committed to his braking, and unlike Leclerc, was already turning into the corner, when the yellow flag was displayed on the far right of the runoff.
The Stewards consider that there was no reasonable way for Russell to have seen that flag and even if he had, he could not have changed his braking. Once he rounded the corner, Russell accelerated normally. Unlike Leclerc, however, the illuminated green light panel between turn 2 and turn 3, was a significant distance further down the track and harder to see at the point of acceleration than in the case of Leclerc.
But, ultimately, Russell did see the green. Russell also did not get the benefit of the DRS in that zone because it was automatically switched off, slowing his lap. The Stewards pointed out in the Leclerc decision many mitigating factors.
In this case, the Stewards believe there is further mitigation. However, it is a matter of safety that the drivers understand that when they have seen a car in a runoff, and green light indicates that they are inside of a yellow sector and that some indication, such as a lift or at least limited acceleration, acknowledging that other issues can occur within a yellow zone.
Thus, in this limited set of circumstances, in particular that the yellow flag could not have been seen, the Stewards order a Driving Reprimand rather than a more serious driving penalty.
The Stewards recommend that this matter be clarified in the next Drivers’ meeting and note that these penalties should not represent a binding precedent.
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