Why George Russell avoided devastating Bahrain GP penalty

George Russell faced a familiar situation after the chequered flag in Bahrain as for the second successive day, he faced a trip to the stewards after classifying in second place.

Russell lost his front-row starting position on Saturday following a pit lane error in Bahrain and was at risk of a similar fate on Sunday.

During the race, Russell's drag reduction system (DRS) opened up despite not being within one second of a car ahead in the detection zone.

Russell immediately declared after the grand prix that he pressed the radio button which resulted in the DRS flap opening as the team navigated various electronic issues.

The stewards confirmed that this was the case - and acknowledged Russell gave up two-tenths of a second on his own accord after gaining two-hundredths by opening DRS.

“The connection between the automated DRS activation system and the car failed due to issues with a timing loop provided by an external party,” read a statement from the stewards. 

“Therefore the FIA authorised manual activation of the DRS in accordance with Article 22.1 h). 

“At the time the driver was experiencing a brake-by-wire issue and other electronic issues. He was at that time advised to use an auxiliary button in the cockpit which serves as a back up radio button but also serves as a manual DRS activation button. 

“On the straight between turns 10 and 11 he tried to radio the team using this button but instead accidentally activated the DRS. The DRS was activated for a distance of 37 metres on a straight of approximately 700 metres. 

“Whilst he gained 0.02 seconds, he gave up 0.28 seconds at the next corner to compensate. This was confirmed by telemetry.

“Accordingly whilst technically a breach occurred the Stewards decide that as there was no sporting advantage gained, no penalty is imposed.”