Vettel and Magnussen escape yellow flag penalties

2014 Australian Grand Prix

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Sebastian Vettel and Kevin Magnussen have been cleared of failing to slow sufficiently for yellow flags during qualifying.

The stewards examined whether both drivers had not reduced their speed when yellow flags were displayed at turn three during Q2 following Kimi Raikkonen’s crash.

The stewards said Vettel’s explanation was backed up by telemetry from his car. “The driver had slowed sufficiently and was fully in control,” they ruled.

Although they weren’t able to corroborate Magnussen’s explanation in the same way, he was also cleared.

“While the telemetry was inconclusive due to very different track conditions between laps, the stewards were satisfied from the video and the driver’s explanation that he was sufficiently slow and under control,” they ruled.

Magnussen and Vettel will start from fourth and twelfth respectively.

Fernando Alonso and Esteban Gutierrez are also being investigated for other potential infringements during qualifying.

2014 Australian Grand Prix

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Image © McLaren/Hoch Zwei

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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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29 comments on “Vettel and Magnussen escape yellow flag penalties”

  1. Lucas Wilson (@full-throttle-f1)
    15th March 2014, 9:48

    Typical, Vettel gets off scot free and poor rookies have to pay the price…

    1. If Vettel didn’t do anything wrong and the rookies did, you want to get Vettel penalized? Rly?

      1. Lucas Wilson (@full-throttle-f1)
        15th March 2014, 9:51

        Nope. If he didn’t do anything wrong then I apologise :-)

    2. Oh please stop this stupidness. I don’t see the logic for all this hate on a 4WDC and people’s eagerness to see him punished.

      He slowed down as explained by the stewards.

    3. I’m sorry but the stewards have more information available to them than you, such as car telemetry and sector times. If they deemed him to have slowed sufficiently, he slowed sufficiently.

    4. Which rookie paid the price?

      Kevin Magnussen is cleared too.

      1. At the time of the first comments posted here, Magnussen was not cleared yet.

        1. @lheela

          at the time the first comments were posted here, Magnussen wasn’t punished either.

    5. I Think the race wins with this decision, I don’t like to wake up in the morning just to find out that the grid has been reshuffled that said there’s plenty of changes to be expected for tomorrow.

      1. Chris (@tophercheese21)
        15th March 2014, 11:28

        +1

  2. Good decision in my book.

  3. The driver’s explanation supported by the telemetry satisfied the stewards that, under changing track conditions, the driver had slowed sufficiently and was fully in control.

    Upon further review, Magnificent Geoffrey is satisfied that a sufficient investigation and thorough analysis of the alleged infringement was carried out to an acceptable standard and can accept that the conclusion reached by the stewards to take no action constitutes a proper and just application of the regulations by the relevant authority.

    1. Lucas Wilson (@full-throttle-f1)
      15th March 2014, 9:57

      You work for the FIA?

    2. DonSimon will not be contesting @magnificent-geoffrey ‘s decision.

    3. Bosyber is satisfied by @magnificent-geoffrey and, on consideration of all the evidence, will take no further action, at this time. … Always add the ‘at this time’, who knows if you might need it!

      Good, I don’t tend to like having the results of a session changed after it is over; sure sometimes it might be needed, but it isn’t a good thing.

  4. No penality for Magnussen too ;)

  5. Bring on the penalty points, says Vandoorne…

  6. I’ve just seen the video on the BBC of Vettel getting booed. I know in sports like football the crowd can be hostile, but I never thought F1 would be the same.

    Presumably it’s not just the dominance, but the fact he dominated an Australian that prompted today’s booing, and the incidents in Turkey 2010 and Malaysia last year can’t have helped. Hopefully it doesn’t become a feature of the season, because he’s a brilliant driver and a nice guy.

    I didn’t like seeing Vettel win every week, but he doesn’t deserve that. Problem is, what can anyone do about it?

    1. I’ve been waiting for some sort of outrage, although I didn’t know until you mentioned it that they were booing him. I wondered as soon as they cheered him not making Q3 if that would draw as much outrage as the booing did last year. Seems it hasn’t.

    2. This and other fan behavior over the past year have pretty much sapped any desire I ever had to attend another grand prix in person. If that means I’m not a “true fan” — well, at this point I’d actually consider that a compliment. I’d prefer not to be considered among their ranks.

  7. Well Magnussen seems to have politicked this well. Inconclusive telemetry (ie, he didn’t actually slow or they would have said it was conclusive) and still managed to “satisfy the stewards with his explanation.”

    Lucky, clever boy.

    1. David not Coulthard (@)
      15th March 2014, 11:43

      They had video.

    2. I suspect he didn’t slow considering the time he posted. Button back off and couldn’t post a time!!!

  8. Antony Davidson showed Vettel drive past Raikkonen on the sky-pad. The first sign of yellow he got was on his dashboard, but this was while he was mid-corner and thus his steering wheel was in the way for him to see the light turn yellow. So a penalty would’ve been harsh. Good news that both drivers were checked and cleared.

    1. Exactly it would have been harsh, just like the gearbox penalty is totally ridiculous.

  9. Although they weren’t able to corroborate Magussen’s explanation in the same way, he was also cleared.

    This is what worries me about these yellow flag infringements. The stewards talk about the driver being in control, which leaves me to believe, a different driver would probably get a penalty if not to the liking of the stewards.

  10. Alonso escaped penalty as well.

  11. I read Alonso is under investigation as well..

  12. Inconclusive telemetry but innocent.

    Gotta love the stewards.

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