Mark Webber has been handed a 10-place grid penalty for the next race of the season in Korea after being given his third reprimand of the season.
The Aussie hitched a lift back to the pit lane with rival Fernando Alonso after his Red Bull RB9 burst into flames on the final lap of the race.
Three reprimands during a season means an automatic 10-place grid penalty for the following race, which is imposed under article 18.2 of the Sporting Regulations.
The regulation reads: "Any driver who receives three reprimands in the same Championship season will, upon the imposition of the third, be given a ten grid place penalty at that Event. If the third reprimand is imposed following an Incident during a race the ten grid place penalty will be applied at the driver's next Event. The ten grid place penalty will only be imposed if at least two of the reprimands were imposed for a driving infringement."
Webber's two previous reprimands were for a collision with Nico Rosberg during the Bahrain Grand Prix and for failing to slow for yellow flags during first practice for the Canadian Grand Prix.
Stewards deemed that Webber broke Article 30.9 (b) of the Sporting Regulations after he "went onto the track without the permission of Marshals."
The reason for the reprimand was that "The driver of car 2 entered the track without the marshal's permission between the commencement of the formation lap and the time when the last car enters parc ferme."
Discussing his race, Webber said: "Then six laps from the end, the guys were getting worried about the car. So, yeah, it’s annoying but someone’s had a tougher day than me somewhere and that’s the way it goes. I was having to short shift, but then, unlike Monza, we started to lose a lot of power. We were just trying to get home at that point but then on the last lap we caught fire."
Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner commented on the decision, telling AUTOSPORT: " "It should have been dealt with by a fine or a slap on the wrist. What is a shame is that it has ended up with a reprimand, which ultimately because it is the third reprimand has ended up with a 10-place penalty.
"Unfortunately the reprimands are now the only thing available to the stewards. Perhaps, in this instance, a talking to the drivers would have sufficed. Ideally a fine would have been better, but I don't believe that is something available to the stewards now. It is a shame and frustrating because that puts Mark now on the back foot now in Korea. It is what it is and we certainly can't change it."
Meanwhile Lewis Hamilton, who was following Alonso when he stopped on track to assist Webber, was shocked by the move. He said: "I was doing my in-lap, came around the corner and Fernando was there, and I was really shocked. I went to the right of him, but if Mark had been walking across where I went then I would have run him over. Fortunately, that wasn't the case."
Fernando Alonso was also given a reprimand after stewards found that he breached Article 30.13 of the Sporting Regulations, saying that he "drove the car in a manner which could be deemed potentially dangerous to other drivers or any other person. In this case, two cars had to take avoiding action as a result."
Check out the video below which shows the incident through on-board cameras. You can also see CCTV footage from turn seven here.
(c) Mr.Ferrari.CZ |
| (c) Getty Images |
Three reprimands during a season means an automatic 10-place grid penalty for the following race, which is imposed under article 18.2 of the Sporting Regulations.
The regulation reads: "Any driver who receives three reprimands in the same Championship season will, upon the imposition of the third, be given a ten grid place penalty at that Event. If the third reprimand is imposed following an Incident during a race the ten grid place penalty will be applied at the driver's next Event. The ten grid place penalty will only be imposed if at least two of the reprimands were imposed for a driving infringement."
Webber's two previous reprimands were for a collision with Nico Rosberg during the Bahrain Grand Prix and for failing to slow for yellow flags during first practice for the Canadian Grand Prix.
Stewards deemed that Webber broke Article 30.9 (b) of the Sporting Regulations after he "went onto the track without the permission of Marshals."
The reason for the reprimand was that "The driver of car 2 entered the track without the marshal's permission between the commencement of the formation lap and the time when the last car enters parc ferme."
Discussing his race, Webber said: "Then six laps from the end, the guys were getting worried about the car. So, yeah, it’s annoying but someone’s had a tougher day than me somewhere and that’s the way it goes. I was having to short shift, but then, unlike Monza, we started to lose a lot of power. We were just trying to get home at that point but then on the last lap we caught fire."
Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner commented on the decision, telling AUTOSPORT: " "It should have been dealt with by a fine or a slap on the wrist. What is a shame is that it has ended up with a reprimand, which ultimately because it is the third reprimand has ended up with a 10-place penalty.
"Unfortunately the reprimands are now the only thing available to the stewards. Perhaps, in this instance, a talking to the drivers would have sufficed. Ideally a fine would have been better, but I don't believe that is something available to the stewards now. It is a shame and frustrating because that puts Mark now on the back foot now in Korea. It is what it is and we certainly can't change it."
Meanwhile Lewis Hamilton, who was following Alonso when he stopped on track to assist Webber, was shocked by the move. He said: "I was doing my in-lap, came around the corner and Fernando was there, and I was really shocked. I went to the right of him, but if Mark had been walking across where I went then I would have run him over. Fortunately, that wasn't the case."
Fernando Alonso was also given a reprimand after stewards found that he breached Article 30.13 of the Sporting Regulations, saying that he "drove the car in a manner which could be deemed potentially dangerous to other drivers or any other person. In this case, two cars had to take avoiding action as a result."
Check out the video below which shows the incident through on-board cameras. You can also see CCTV footage from turn seven here.
Opinion:
To be quite honest, I'm slightly baffled as to how people think Webber's grid penalty is "unfair", particularly with the evidence above on show. I think people need to understand that, for one, the reprimands were not even given for him hitching a lift with Alonso. That was perfectly fine.
However, what he was given a reprimand for was running onto the track during the slow-down lap, with cars passing by, after the Marshals had told him not to. Alonso was also given a reprimand but this was, again, not for the lift itself, but for where he stopped on track.
The Spaniard stopped just after the exit of turn seven, a 90 degree left that is quite hard to see the exit on entry. This was a dangerous place as noted by the two Mercedes drivers having to take avoiding action at the last minute to clear the stationary Ferrari.
If you take a look at the two pieces of evidence above, it becomes clear just how close Webber had gotten to being hit by a Formula 1 car. Particularly Nico Rosberg who went for the inside line, if Webber had been standing a few centimetres away he could have got clipped.
So it isn't the lift that was why the reprimands were given, but the lack of permission to enter the track, the way he did so and the position at which the incident took place on the track - an unsafe position.
Also, for those saying the penalty was unfair, the reprimand is the lowest penalty on the stewards list other than a warning. Webber knew that he was on two reprimands, as they had already been given prior to the incident at previous races, and took the risk anyway.
Alonso got away scot-free because it was his first reprimand, Webber had two already and a third resulted in the grid drop for Korea. So in the respects that I have outlined above, I can see that it was a fair penalty given by the stewards.
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