Second reprimand puts Webber at risk of penalty

2013 Canadian Grand Prix

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Mark Webber and Valtteri Bottas have been given reprimands by the stewards at the Canadian Grand Prix.

The pair failed to slow down adequately for double waved yellow flags following Pastor Maldonado’s crash at the end of first practice on Friday.

“The Stewards found no evidence of a significant reduction in speed that is required under Article 2.4.5.1 (b) of Appendix H of the International Sporting Code,” they said in a statement.

Webber previously received a reprimand for colliding with Nico Rosberg during the Bahrain Grand Prix. If he incurs a third reprimand for a driving infringement before the end of the season he will be given a ten-place grid penalty.

A total of five reprimands have been given to drivers so far this year. Aside from those handed to Webber and Bottas, Kimi Raikkonen received one at the Monaco Grand Prix and Adrian Sutil at the Australian Grand Prix.

The stewards took no action against Jenson Button for crossing the white line at the pit lane entrance during second practice. They accepted the gear selection problem he experienced at the time constituted mitigating circumstances.

2013 Canadian Grand Prix

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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32 comments on “Second reprimand puts Webber at risk of penalty”

  1. Stupid. Why does this deserve a reprimand but the same thing in Japan 2009 earned a bunch of drivers grid penalties?

    1. Because the rules related to the proper procedure for double-waved yellow flags were changed in September of 2011.

      1. because f1 has the ability to shoot itself in the foot on regular bases. They think they can do anything in the name of safety, even if that upsets the fans.
        you are not the only one fed up with the hole thing.

    2. Its exactly as PM mentions below, @fishfinger, these rules about 3 reprimands resulting in a grid penalty were introduced only in 2011

    3. If you are referring to the penalties during the qualifying session, then you have already got your answer. Penalties for offences during the practise sessions are normally treated more leniently than the official race sessions (i.e. qualifying and the race itself) because there is no real competitive advantage to be gained.
      Speeding during a practise session doesn’t really benefit the driver but, in the case of the 2009 Japanese GP, there were drivers who did benefit by speeding through that yellow flag zone and setting a better time than those who did slow down, hence why penalties were issued in that instance.

  2. How’s this for a hypothetical situation: Webber gets his third reprimand and a 10-place grid penalty in another practice session, so Red Bull decide to sit him out for the rest of the weekend and put one of the young driver’s in the seat?

    1. Isn’t Webber in trouble for gearbox related as I haven’t seen any coverage of it on the TV just yet back here in Oz. He should pull out like you suggested and quit F1 forever unless if he does do a Schumacher.

    2. @vettel1 The rules state (emphasis added):

      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.

      So in your example Webber would still have to serve the penalty when he returned to the car for the later race.

      1. Which, I think, is written that way to avoid just this scenario playing out, with teams replacing penalised drivers to dodge the penalty.

      2. @keithcollantine ah I missed that bit, thanks for pointing that out!

    3. Would Webber not just be given the grid penalty whenever he next takes part in a qualifying session though? Wouldn’t using another driver just delay the inevitable?

    4. @vettel1

      I wouldn’t mind seeing Buemi in the car. Even if, as @keithcollantine points out, subbing in the reserve driver does nothing but delay the inevitable.

  3. What happens if a driver gets 4 or more reprimands for the season? Webber is getting very close to getting one and were not even half way yet

    1. The 6th reprimand would incur the 2nd grid penalty, the 9th reprimand would incur the 3rd grid penalty, ad infinitum.

  4. I’m not arguing against the penalty, but how can incidents like we saw in Monaco that endanger others, while ending races for some only incur grid penalties and not reprimands?

    1. Which incident in Monaco are you specifically referring to?

    2. @funkyf1 I don’t understand your point. A grid penalty is a more severe punishment than a reprimand.

  5. Yes @keithcollantine a grid penalty is more severe than a reprimand, but why does an incident that involves endangering others such as smashing another car into the barriers or flying over the rear of someone incur a penalty and a reprimand? That would be one way to stop repeat offenders. Grid penalties are giving out every other weekend nowadays it’s just a given. Prisoners-monkeys I was refer to Chilton and Grosjean as my references above may indicate

    1. *edit* Not incur a penalty or reprimand

      1. @funkyf1 – Grosjean did get a grid penalty for his accident with Ricciardo.

        As for the Maldonado/Chilton/Bianchi incident, if no penalty was given, it was because the stewards decided it was a racing incident where blame for the incident could not be placed solely at the feet of one party. To give them penalties would set a precedent where any driver who made contact with another would be given a penalty.

    2. Grosjean did get a penalty for smashing in the back of Ricciardo, and Chilton got a punishment as well, so what do you mean @funkyf1?

    3. @funkyf1 So you meant: “why does an incident that involves endangering others such as smashing another car into the barriers or flying over the rear of someone not incur a penalty or reprimand?”

      Assuming you’re referring to the Chilton crash, he did get a penalty for that, he served a drive-through during the race.

      1. I believe I wrote penalty and a reprimand. A reprimand is only a warning. The penalty is served as a grid loss, the reprimand goes down as a strike, consider it an education system. These are serious incidents that are continuely happening at the hands of some and grid penalties alone are not enough punishment. So I’m suggesting a driver who causes an accident that could of been avoided receives a penalty and a reprimand.

        1. You wrote penalty or reprimand when you corrected yourself.

          But reprimands just lead to more grid penalties. If you think a grid penalty isn’t a deterrent, why would a grid penalty and threat of a future one be any more affective?

          1. Yes @matt90 you’re correct sorry guys for making this confusing hopefully my last explanation made more sense. Matt I think a grid penalty IS a deterrent, but is it enough? Webber is on two strikes after receiving two reprimands, it’s a story that has people talking and I’m sure Mark himself will be doing his best to avoid another reprimand or he will receive a penalty. That’s an education system, do it again a you’ll receive a penalty. Grosjean as example has already received a penalty for his incident, but you get one of those if you break the seal on your gearbox, maybe not as many places, but it’s a one off penalty. If he was to receive his penalty and a reprimand that goes to his tally it would eventually lead to another penalty and repeat offenders would constantly find themselves at the back of the grid.

          2. But repeat offenders will keep getting immediate grid penalties and keep finding themselves at the back of the grid anyway. I don’t see how a reprimand which only goes a third of the way towards another one of the same penalties are going to make drivers stop and think about their actions. It just seems very arbitrary to also give a reprimand.

  6. @BasCB Like I mentioned in my last post, why not a penalty and a reprimand? That way there is a system to stop repeat offenders. Grosjean is one of those, rather than just serving him a penalty, on his 3rd incident he gets another penalty like Webber will receive if he gets another…. 3 strikes and your out system might even be better, sit out an entire race!

    1. Because there are rules that dictate when and where and under what circumstances particular penalties can be handed out.

      A reprimand on top of a grid penalty would not work because we’ve seen countless occasions where drivers have not learned from a penalty alone. Romain Grosjean was given a race ban last year, and within three races of returning to the cockpit, he was causing another crash.

    2. That kind of thing is what they are working on with the penalty system @funkyf1.

      Currently that would amount to giving 2 penalties for 1 incident, which is not right IMO

      1. Depends on the incident I believe, race bans are not the answer, education is. People need to learn from their mistakes.

  7. ferrous buller
    8th June 2013, 14:09

    Strange. Why wouldn’t Webber and Bottas have slowed down for double waved yellow? Could understand if it occurred during a race, but it’s not like they had anything to gain – or perhaps they did. Anyone? Anyone?

  8. OmarR-Pepper (@)
    8th June 2013, 14:56

    Probably it’s time to start the penalty points commented in another article. A continuous bad behavior such as Romain, (not so continous this year, but looks as if he’s back to the nutcase) should end up in a race ban. That would enforce teams to get rid of their crash-prone drivers, because banning a driver makes more obvious the direct effect it has on the WCC

Comments are closed.