Red Bull was handed a €25,000 fine for instructing Sergio Perez to bring his RB20 back to the pits in an unsafe condition during the Canadian Grand Prix, as it was trying to avoid a safety car.
Max Verstappen was leading the race in Montreal when Perez found the barrier at Turn 6 on lap 52 of 70. With the Mexican driver's rear wing critically damaged, it would have been customary for him to park his Red Bull and abandon it.
However, as the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a temporary track and lacks sufficient run-off and recovery areas, doing so would have almost certainly have triggered a safety car.
Therefore, the team instructed Perez to return his RB20 to the garage - something that caught the ire of the stewards.
This led to a three-place grid penalty for the 34-year-old at the next round, the Spanish Grand Prix for driving his car in an unsafe condition. A recent RacingNews365 poll found that almost half of F1 fans deemed that punishment too harsh.
Meanwhile, Red Bull escaped further significant sanction, aside from the fine, even thought the official decisions document stated: "The team confirmed in the hearing that the driver had been advised to bring the car back to the pits as they were trying to avoid a Safety Car situation."
Given that it was the team who told Perez to potential break the rules and risk incurring the wrath of the stewards, is the punishment bestowed upon Red Bull too lenient?
Let us know by commenting or by voting below in the latest RacingNews365 poll.
Also interesting:
Max Verstappen hit back after an out-of-sorts Monaco GP, Sergio Perez floundered again - and into a controversial retirement. How much damage can Ferrari and McLaren inflict with Red Bull fighting with one hand tied behind its back, did the Milton Keynes-based team re-sign Perez too soon? After a thoroughly entertaining Canadian GP, host Nick Golding is joined by Ian Parkes and Samuel Coop to analyse all things.
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