Ricciardo gets ten-place grid drop

2014 Malaysian Grand Prix

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Daniel Ricciardo will be moved back ten places on the grid for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The team were given the penalty after Ricciardo was released from his pit box with the front-left wheel not attached properly.

Ricciardo was also given a ten second stop and go penalty during the race, which he did not finish.

Red Bull were also handed a reprimand by the stewards as a member of their team did not wear protective headgear during Ricciardo’s stop.

2014 Malaysian Grand Prix

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Image © Red Bull/Getty

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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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159 comments on “Ricciardo gets ten-place grid drop”

  1. Ouch, that Webber luck.

    1. Gazzaguru (@garygushbiz-com)
      30th March 2014, 12:12

      Seems very similar to what Mark experienced during his time at RBR. Ouch!!!

    2. Australia´s luck maybe? Got to feel for him…

  2. Seems rather harsh, surely it should be an in race penalty, which was already given, or a grid drop next race, but not both, and do wonder if they’d have done the same for SV…..

    1. @wombat1m What does that have to do with anything? It’s just foolish to think stewards would treat Vettel better for any reason whatsoever.

    2. Ok, so according to autosport it’s a standard part of the rules for this season. Seems a harsh rule, but straightforward application of the rules nonetheless.

      1. thanks for that, but still seems harsh

    3. It was an in race penalty they did not take because they retired him. Had they first taken the penalty an THEN retired him, he would be fine

      1. No he wouldn’t be fine:
        Sporting Regulations:
        23.12 If a car is deemed to have been released in an unsafe condition during a race the driver concerned will receive a ten grid place penalty at the driver’s next Event. However, if any car released in an unsafe condition is able to resume the race a penalty under Article 16.3(c) will also be imposed on the driver concerned.

    4. @vettel1 If you read the original comment from @wombat1m you will see that he did not make an audacious accusation. He made a statement, which was that he wonders if they would have done the same for SV. I also wonder that and whether Alonso would have suffered the same fate (which I think very unlikely).

      If something similar happens again this season we shall see whether they are consistent in what I agree is a rather draconian penalty for Ricciardo given that he was promptly stopped before rejoining the track and the problem fixed.

      1. Just seen sporting reg 23.12 reference below. Still seems harsh but if that’s what the rules now say then it’s got to be done (for one and all).

  3. Ouch indeed. Very harsh.

    To hit them with this on top of a 10-second Stop-and-Go during the race and after the team stopped Ricciardo in the pits and recovered him as safely as they could after they realised the problem? Kind of feels excessive to me.

    1. Chris (@tophercheese21)
      30th March 2014, 12:36

      +1

    2. Have to agree Magnificent one. The stewards in Malaysia have been particularly harsh this weekend.

      1. Well Malaysia already have one thing missing at the moment, I guess they didn’t want it to seem like the rule book to F1 was too…

      2. Actually no they haven’t – the rules clearly state that both penalties are required. The stewards had no option.

      3. Oh, unless you’re also talking about penalties for other drivers. In which case, yeah :P

    3. Punishing a driver in the current and following race is wrong, unless they’ve done something ban-worthy. I’d rather see a harsher penalty in the current race than split it across 2. This feels deeply unfair rather than just excessive.

      1. @matt90

        Bear in mind that an unsafe release that means they lose a minute in the pits and get lapped, is race ruining in itself but is not a penalty. They still need to be penalised for the rule breach. If you take a penalty after already being in last by your own fault, is that still a penalty? Afterall it makes no difference. In such a situation a team can only be effectively be penalised by ‘punishing’ them at the next event where the penalty actually can serve its purpose properly. It’s harsh, yes – but then what is a penalty if it’s not something you take a think, “Gah, we must make sure that never happens again!” A penalty that does not make a team/driver feel like that is an ineffective penalty in my view.

        1. @nick-uk I’m pretty sure losing a whole lap is a good enough penalty to make them not want to repeat it.

          1. @george You’re not seeing the point. The penalty itself has to be separate from the effect of a self inflicted mistake. It’s nothing to do with the FIA that it took Red Bull 1-2 minutes to complete their pit stop, what does concern the FIA is that they released the car unsafely.

            I agree with you that it’s harsh, but it’s a deserved penalty.

          2. Why dont you tell that to the guy who got hit by a wheel at 80 km/h last year?

    4. Last year Williams was fined heavily for doing something similar.
      I guess RBR got confused because they could simply have him do his penalty and then retire a few meters from his box.

    5. The rules need to be tough though, to prevent an incident like Webber’s bundled pit stop in Germany 2013.. If there was no/lenient penalty for such offenses, then the teams would obviously be less worried about making the offenses.

  4. Why? He already served his penalty in the race? Strange.

    1. sporting regulations 2014,

      23.12
      c)
      If a car is deemed to have been released in an unsafe condition dur
      ing a race the driver
      concerned will receive a ten grid place penalty at the driver’s next Event. However, if
      any car released in an unsafe condition is able to resume the rac
      e a penalty under
      Article 16.3(c
      ) will also be imposed
      on the driver concerned
      .

    2. After last years Red Bull’s, wheel in the pit lane incident, the rules for 2014 were changed such that driver incurs BOTH a 10 second stop and go AND a 10 place drop for the following race.

      Rightly so too, the memory of seeing that wheel roll down the pit lane like some over sized 10 pin ball will be with me for a long time.

      1. rules should not be dictated according to sentiment. Punishing a team in two races for it’s misconduct in 1 race is inconsistent in my view. But hey, its the FIA, and they run the show, rule makers need to make a living too.

        1. Stupid statement, rules imposed to increase the safety of the sport are pretty much always generated by emotion after someone dies or gets seriously injured

        2. If the FIA were more concerned with making a living than improving safety, then surely a fine would have made more sense than a grid penalty?

  5. This isn’t just kicking a man whilst he’s down… This is ordering the entire English rubgy team to tackle him whilst he’s down.

    Daniel’s definitely got a case of Webberitis!

    1. a case of Webberitis!

      I used the exact same phrase on the live-text. It’s disastrously rotten luck to have so many things go wrong in a chain reaction. I wouldn’t wish it on any driver.

    2. lol

    3. At least he’s quicker than Webber.

      1. Ouch! Burn!!!!

      2. @George

        True.

        I was fearing that he would continue the trend of poor starts, as he wasn’t lightning fast off the line in the Torro Rosso.

        But, if anything, he’s been one of the better starters, so far!
        (I’ve gone and jinxed it now, haven’t I :P)

    4. It’s nothing to do with bad luck or anything – it’s in the rules plain and simple.

      1. @joetoml1n

        The ‘bad luck’ was referring to the wheel incident, which happened to Webber last year.

        Of course I know it’s in the rules, I don’t see how my comment was either pro or con the rules, at all, quite frankly…

  6. Did Ricciardo offended the Stewards last season?

    1. yeah seriously why are the penalties so harsh

      1. Why ? They took his side when he complained like a baby about Bottas

    2. They’re trying to wipe the smile off his face…

  7. RIC -> Pit wall: “Hey guys i want to be part of it”
    Pit wall: “Mr Horner, daniel want to be part of default 31”
    Horner: “Really? ok..destroy his tires and wings !”
    “BOX BOX BOX ”
    :P

    1. Paul Ogbeiwi (@)
      30th March 2014, 12:43

      hahahahaha
      “FINISH HIM!”
      “FLAWLESS VICTORY”

      1. Version 2
        “Mister Horner, We have a problem”
        “huh?”
        “The backup fuel sensing method of the FIA is working, We cannot get him DSQ again !”
        “ERrr… try braking his front wing”
        “Right way sir”
        “Wait ! make sure you release him unsafely”
        “For the next race? you sir, are a genius !!!”

        1. LOL , this is too hilarious … I can almost imagine horner having that discussion in his squeaky voice. Ha ha

  8. It is a double penalty for sure and time will tell whether this is the standard penalty for an unsafe release. (10 sec S&G + 10 spot grid penalty)

    Made me wonder:
    Unsafe release and you crash into another driver by going out.
    1 10 sec stop and go for unsafe release
    2 5 sec stop and go for crash
    3 10 spot grid penalty
    4 2 penalty points?

    1. I think you would get more penalty points in such a case.

    2. It is the standard penalty – check the sporting regulations.

  9. You can’t punish a man twice, come on this is beyond redicoulus.

    1. So apparently he didn’t serve his stop and go, so yeah that clears it up basically.

    2. This is a new rule that was made this winter in order to stop teams trying to go for sub 2 second stops. A stop-go AND grid drop will be applied for an unsafe release.

  10. I’m trying to remember if he took the in-race penalty before he retired or not. If he did take the penalty, then a second penalty seems extremely harsh.

    1. Pretty sure he did as he was listed with 5 stops.

      1. He did. He came in on back to back laps after changing his wing.

  11. Oh, c’mon!! What are the stewards doing? They’re trying to redeem themselves for being such an incompetent bunch last year?! They’re being childish in my opinion…

    1. If I had been a steward leafing through the regulations, I had done the same, even if I think he and RBR was punished above reason by the points loss inflicted upon themselves by their bad luck or incompetence. The rules are clear, its not the stewards fault that it turns out to be very harsh in this case, especially because the incident didn’t cause any great danger or severe inconvenience to others – as I remember it. And the wheel didn’t come off.

  12. Way too harsh. Vettel does not need more help.

    1. How does DR’s penalty helping SV?

      1. I must apologize. After “Multi21” I promised myself not to ever try to understand RB’s internal politics again. But I could not control myself. Malaysia brings back memories of deleted tweets…

        So consider my comment just my two cents of paranoia.

        1. Did Red Bull fake the moonlanding as well? Did Christian Horner play any part in the entire JFK ordeal?

          Maybe Dieter and Helmut are behind the Illuminati as well..

          1. Did Christian Horner play any part in the entire JFK ordeal?

            Yes. I daren’t say any more than that…

    2. Why is Vettel being dragged in again?

      1. Because they can not take it that Vettel is still better than his teammate

      2. some people just love to hate and will find any manner of ridiculous conclusions to try and justify there hate

        1. The comments involving Vettel, Horner etc. is just making fun of those who would start thinking “conspiracy”.

  13. I guess they really want to punish harshly for unsafe release as a flying wheel in pits is a potentially lethal situation.

    1. I think that’s the key. The FIA have clearly decided that loose wheels can’t be tolerated (rightly so, let’s never forget what happened to Henry Surtees) and are clamping down on it hard. One option is to have minimum pit stop times, the other is to punish very heavily so that the teams effectively police themselves.

      1. Red Bull were credited with an unsafe release, it had nothing to do with the ‘loose’ wheel I believe. If Ricciardo had managed to leave the pits with out looking his wheel was going to fall off, and then killed his motor 100 meters after the pit and claimed some sort of failure, he probably would not have been punished at all. If anything, this rule raises the incentive to not stop your car after a release, and to continue down and out the pits hoping the wheel won’t fall off.

        1. It’s still classed as an unsafe release if the wheel isn’t attached. The car has to be fully ready to go, not just with 3 proper wheels and hope the other one stays seated for 300 metres.

  14. Kid can’t catch a break can he?

    And he wasn’t “punished twice” as some people are saying – he didn’t take the penalty for an unsafe release despite the chance to do so.

    1. Ah, yes. That does explain it. RBR should have had him first take the 10 second penalty and THEN retire him.

      1. Well, that was stupid then

        1. It’s Ricciardo for whom I feel sorry too, @mouse_nightshirt. He took the hit for the team’s unsafe release, although I accept F1 is a team sport.

          First, RB – more or less – robbed him of a podium as a result of the fuel filter fiasco in Australia. Now they wreck his second race and disadvantage him for the next one. And (from Keith’s post, emphasis mine) “a member of their team was observed not to be wearing protective headgear during Ricciardo’s stop.” Just as well the team member was – presumably – wearing protective headgear during Vettel’s stops.

          Ricciardo’s run of bad luck is probably just one of those things. But it certainly looks like the poor guy is being let down by events beyond his control. I suppose he could have avoided the Bahrain, grid penalty by taking the 10 second penalty during this last race, but that failure may also be a corollary to RB’s poor judgement.

          Poor Ricciardo. He started this race so well, particularly at the start. Three races: Australia; Malaysia and Bahrain. Three sets of issues that aren’t really his fault.

          1. I suppose he could have avoided the Bahrain, grid penalty by taking the 10 second penalty during this last race

            Nope – the grid drop isn’t instead of the 10 second S&G, it’s as well as. They’re the new rules – not up to the stewards.

          2. @fluxsource and @shena – you’re both right, I stand corrected.

    2. As mentioned above a couple of times, he served the penalty before the retire.
      https://www.racefans.net/2014/03/30/2014-malaysian-grand-prix-tyre-strategies-pit-stops/
      First three for tyres, 4th for nose change and 5th for the penalty

        1. Thanks. I guess FOM didn’t show it via their main feed as his position was pretty irrelevant at that stage and people seemed to assume without checking out any facts it didn’t happen.

  15. Hmm, power plant not performing as well as expected, pit crew tardy in changes, misplaced safty helmets, penalties, penaties, penalties, moving towards a major fall-out with authourity over new regulations and the owner considering pulling the plug if he can’t get his own way… Ferrarri took decades to get to that stage in F1. What makes Red Bull so special so soon. I have followed their progress since they began, cheering DC on for years despite RBR “bad luck” and “almostthere” status. This last few years the have become as arrogant as Ferrarri and McLaren in assuming that winning races means they can dictate the rulebook.
    The FIA control motor sport. END OF. Do as the book says, and get over it.

    1. I don’t see what this penalty (which is a consistent and correct one) has to do with what you’ve said.

      1. That’s the point (I think). The penalty says that so they shouldn’t threaten to leave because they broke the rules and got punished.

  16. What? I mean, it was a mistake, but the Red Bull guys reacted on time and they stopped him before going out. I can understand the stop & go penalty, but why the ten place grid drop?

    Really, really harsh decision.

    1. exactly i agree it didn’t seem to very unsafe

      1. *be

    2. @yobo01 they brought the new rule in because of incidents like webbers wheel hitting a camera man in the pit lane! it doesnt matter that riccardo stopped before entering the track. a loose wheel in the pit lane is just as dangerous as out on track!

      1. @sato113 @chebeto
        Yeah, fair point. I mean, it’s good that they are trying to improve the safety in those kind of situation, they lowered the maximum speed in the pits and they introduced some other safety measures.
        Ricciardo had to be penalised for that, I just feel that a stop & go and then a 10 place grid penalty on top of that is a bit harsh.
        The stewards did what they had to, it’s all written very clearly on the rule book.

        1. I guess a 10 sec stop-go could be a meaningless penalty if the driver was already way down the pack. so a 10 place grid drop as well would certainly cover this.

    3. @yobo01 @aqibqadeer No one was hurt and that’s good, but he actually didn’t stop that early. He did drive about 50 meters, I guess.
      Remember some race last year when a car (I think Maldonado) was released with a wheel not attached and the wheel hit a camera man? They want to prevent that, so a harsh penalty will make them think twice before they release anyone from the pits. It’s all fair and square, unfortunately a bit unlucky for Ricciardo, but the stewards got to do their job.

      1. It was ironically Webber, not Maldonado, which is funny because it was effectively the same car which suffered this time, just with a different Australian at the wheel.

        Note the word effectively please.

  17. that’s just ridiculous its good they are threatning to leave FIA should stop this nonsense

  18. Webber best take that facemask off, he’s not fooling anybody with that luck.

    1. He, he. But it can’t be Webber – he has made 2 perfect starts in as many races – that would never happen to Webber;-)

  19. Correct decision. A stop/go penalty meant nothing as his race was already ruined by that point. Best to encourage teams to be more careful by giving penalties that actually mean something.

  20. Can only “assume” that the grid drop is for a team member in pitlane without a helmet (bonce hat) on, Stella recovery from testing though, and how good was RIC at the start!!!!!!! Awesome. Move over fellas I’m coming through!

  21. front left wasn’t fit properly, he was released, i can agree, that’s a potential danger to others in the pitlane. but Ricciardo realized the situation immediately, and stopped the car to avoid the tyre getting loose. i believe he has done more than you can expect from an average driver in this situation, he was nowhere near making a mistake, and still he is the one getting penalized, even twice… i still believe that a lollypop man should be there with eyes wide open, and i believe that the team should be penalized for things like this, but penalities shouldn’t compromise even two weekends of a driver that has done nothing.

    1. F1 is a team sport. Therefore the Team, which includes the driver gets punished. In fact every punishment even when directed to the driver alone will impact the team. It seems harsh but so is killing someone with an unsafe release. The lesson to be learned here is the pit crew needs to check their work before giving the thumbs up to let the driver go.

  22. The double penalty thing for unsafe release is now part of the sporting regs, not a special case. It came in after Webber’s wheel injured a cameraman in pit lane last year. The 10 place grid drop is mandatory. If the car is able to continue after the unsafe release, a penalty is also applied during the race.

    Sporting reg 23.12 (c)

  23. Red Bull Racing + Australian driver = Worst luck in the universe.

  24. Did he serve his 10 second stop-go penalty? Or did he retire beforehand?
    I think maybe they retired the car instead, and therefore didn’t serve the penalty, go it gets converted into a ten place grid penalty at the next race.

    In which case, sheer incompetence from Red Bull.

    1. Good point there .

    2. Repeat my post from the comment page 1, he served the penalty before the retire.
      https://www.racefans.net/2014/03/30/2014-malaysian-grand-prix-tyre-strategies-pit-stops/
      First three for tyres, 4th for nose change and 5th for the penalty.

  25. He never did the 10 sec stop/go.

  26. Hugely unfortunate, but the FIA had previously said that this was how they were going to deal with unsafe releases, so it looks like the Webber legacy lives on…

  27. The penalties have all seemed a bit harsh to me so far – seemingly any contact in the last race was resulting in penalties.

    Now as this is still breaking, it isn’t exactly clear why the 10 place grid drop is being applied. The unsafe release was penalised in the race – his race being effectively over should have no bearing on that. It would be very disappointing if they have ruled in this way.

    I suspect it might be for being pushed backwards up pit lane during the race as opposed to the unsafe release itself. I’m ignorant of the rules in this circumstance though, but I think they take a dim view of pushing cars around the pit lane during practice let alone during a race. However, I do struggle to see what else could have been done to avoid this once that situation occurred. He could hardly continue down the lane with a heavy tyre ready to go AWOL. Stopping and exiting the car there and then leaves the pit lane effectively blocked, which would shut pit lane and required a safety car given how quickly the tyres burn off. Maybe they do expect the latter?

  28. It may seem harsh but these are the rules that were agreed.

    Iirc the teams asked for the grid drop penalty for an unsafe release.

    Unsafe releases are dangerous and there has to be huge deterants to stop them.

    1. Unsafe releases are dangerous and there has to be huge deterants to stop them.

      I have to agree with you we don’t want to see another person hit with a tyre in the pit

  29. Bed Bull remain under investigation by the stewards as a …”
    All Bed Bulls must be investigated :)

  30. Good news for Ferrari, Red Bull this race were just copying Alonso’s strategy on Ricciardo’s car, i know Alonso didn’t have the pace to bother Vettel but they were playing safe

  31. These are the new rules. Harsh, yes, but rightly so. We’ve seen too many unsafe releases in the last few years, some of which came very close to tragedy.

  32. FIA slaps punishment on a team for an unsafe release since it endangers the people in the pitlane (Germany 2013 – Webber/RBR) but I don’t understand the reason to punish teams in terms of results. Inflicting big monetary penalties serves the purpose. Why hamper a driver’s potential result when he is not even to blame? Also unsafe release are a cause of ‘human error’ and you can’t completely eliminate human error.

    Secondly it seems very harsh to inflict 2nd penalty on a driver/team once handed out. The logic behind a penalty is to ensure that the driver/team loose the result they would’ve otherwise got. In this case as Dan retired, the damage was done and it serves the purpose of the FIA. In the past, drivers are handed out penalties and when they retire, the penalty ceases. However not here.

    Lastly, it’s just a personal opinion/speculation but I feel that FIA is really acting very harsh RBR since the ‘Fuel-gate’ saga. The penalty is just too harsh.

    1. and common, Button had the same situation last year at the same race and wasn’t given a penalty. Even if according to FIA the penalty is for team personnel not wearing helmets then why punish the driver?

      1. i don’t like these statements “why punish the driver and not just the team”
        drivers are part of the team, and if yoiu ask me they should be treated equally

        1. For eg. when a driver exceeds pit lane speed limit, it’s the driver who gets fined and not the team.

          1. Its the teams who pay the fines for pit speeding, Not the drivers:
            http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/107420

  33. Penalties should only be awarded once – and if it’s not taken before…retirement, then ignore it.

    At least that’s my opinion….

  34. What a disastrous weekend.

  35. Okay, so the stewards disqualify him in Australia, they give him a stop and go in Malaysia and they give him a ten spot penalty for the next race … isn’t that a bit, just a little bit too harsh given the fact that Ricciardo hasn’t done anything wrong himself?

    1. @paeschli is that a record of somekind… just trying to find some solace for the poor kid

    2. Very harsh. And when Magnussen crashes into somebody and destroys their race, he only gets 5 seconds added onto his time.

    3. @paeschli It’s rather unlucky but it’s all according to the rules. It’s on safety reasons.
      @strontium Destroying someone’s race is not as bad a hurting or killing someone. This rule is based on safety. If Magnussen’s move would have hurt Raikkonen or put his life in danger he would have had a harsher penalty, i.e. Grosjean Spa 2012.

  36. The next race is China!

    1. In 7 days, this statement will be correct.

  37. Poor kid can’t seem to catch a break…

  38. Initially I thought this was too harsh, but in time this kind of a penalty will make the teams adapt to it, that’s all. If they have to wait 0.2secs longer in the pits to make sure all 4 tyres are on properly then that’s what they have to do.

    The rule is in the sporting regs, so the teams must play by the rules and adapt accordingly. Shame for Ric but he has been let down by his team, not the FIA here.

  39. LOL I know it was a typo but “Bed Bull” seems fitting and humorous.

  40. The stewards are really out to ruin F1 for Ricciardo aren’t they. Seriously! And Magnussen got away with 5 seconds extra in the pits despite destroying Kimi’s race.

    1. They’re after a safe pitlane. Kimi’s accident didn’t hurt anybody, a loose wheel in the pitlane is extremely dangerous.

  41. Given Mteschitz’s remarks the other day – that he was thinking about taking his bat and ball and going home – this latest censure might trigger some serious re-thinking of Red Bull’s commitment to F1.

    I suspect that DM feels that as he puts more cash into F1 than anyone else, he should be given a bit more respect, a little more leeway, when issues like the fuel sensor, and now this, come up. He must look at Ferrari, with their various special provisions and guaranteed money and all the rest, and feel a bit sore – especially as CVC are more asset-stripper than sports promoter. DM’s billions could surely be more profitably spent in other arenas if promoting his fizzy drink is the goal. If DM wanted to hurt F1, he could simply announce (after the Austrian round) that Red Bull was quitting and selling their two teams.

    Alternatively, if they made their intentions known to Bernie and CVC, it may well be that a bunch of new, Red Bull-friendly provisions and rules mysteriously appear. What would Ferrari, and the other teams, make of that?

  42. No! Surely this can’t be right. That’s two penalties!
    Webber must have left all his bad luck in that car.

  43. As I commented the other day, whether RBR thought the fuel flow sensor thing was right or wrong, they woke the sleeping giant that is the FIA. It’s silly really, no-way are they going to get leniency in any decision since they brought the sport into disrepute. Oh well.

    1. I agree that they should come down hard on teams sacrificing safety for speed.
      I would like to see a deduction in constructor points for each unsafe release, the drivers should’nt be treated as harshly as they are now for issues out of their control.

  44. When the rule change was announced I thought it felt way too harsh. And I now feel it’s even harsher than I initially thought. If the unsafe release causes any subsequent dangerous actions or the driver and team don’t handle it properly I agree that a further/second punishment would be needed.

    1. I read that as the team rather than the driver getting the penalty. The “competitor” is Infiniti Red Bull Racing.

    2. Oh dear God that is horrifically unfair.

      Unsafe release, I understand, this is a danger from Ricciardo’s car, fuel flow, he gains an advantage.

      But this. No way. That mechanic should be fined or something. Absolutely nothing in any way related to Ricciardo.

      1. It would be unfair if it were true. The competitor is listed as RBR and the competitor is getting the penalty. Not the driver.

  45. Never was and still ain’t a RBR fan, but this is ridiculous ! The team + the driver had their share of “bad moments”, going for more penalties is really harsh. A money penalty for the team would have been a lot more appropiate.

  46. Also, the penalty handed to MAG for causing a puncture to RAI was not welcomed. It was a minor incident, that’s racing.

  47. Yes (@come-on-kubica)
    30th March 2014, 20:08

    This sport is getting more stupid by the week, it’s like they want people to give up on it.

  48. it’s a shame about it being ricciardo, who is a great driver but just very unlucky at the moment. but i see it this way; pit stop safety is very important. i’ve been at the nurburgring race last year, and when webbers tire hit the camera man i was shocked because i genuinly thought that guy might’ve just died live on television. i do not wish to see this again, and any penalty for infringements during pit stops is, in my opinion, very justified.

    punishing red bull only instead of ricciardo? how? a 20’000 £ fine won’t really matter in a 200 mil £ budget. in my view, there is no way to punish a team properly in a way in which the driver won’t be affected. it’s not the drivers fault, one may argue.. well, the driver is a member of the team just like lollipop man and the cook of the motorhome are. so if a team gets punished, the driver should be punished aswell. the way the fia runs penalties for pit stop infringements is good and i sincerely hope they stand by it.

  49. Bad luck again for Ricciardo, but red bull have done this several times over the last couple of years, memorably sending one of Webber’s wheels rolling across the circuit in front of cars leaving the hairpin.

    The team really needs a serious sanction for it.

  50. Chris (@tophercheese21)
    31st March 2014, 0:41

    Whilst I’m sad that Dan has been denied quality points in his first two races, I’m glad that the rules are at least being applied properly. It could’ve happened to anyone, just happened to be Dan both times through no fault of his own.

  51. Ricciardo better check inside that chassis for voodoo objects. The curse of the 2nd car in that team has returned with a vengeance.

  52. I could understand a three-place or four-place penalty. But a 10-place penalty? The only that would be reasonable is if he actually endangered another driver which he didn’t. He has the possibility to start Bahrain in last place, which could wreck his season.

  53. Penalty aside, was this as a result of the team releasing him too early or did he go before the team was ready and told him to? There was speculation on the commentary during the race that he left before being instructed to do so by the team.

    1. One way to find out: find a replay of the pit stop from the roll-hoop camera above his head.

      No green light = no clearance to depart.

  54. Australian heritage… When I saw redBull retiring the car, all I thought was RBR at least do the 10 sec penalty you smart asses

  55. Two impressive races from Ricciardo so far in his Redbull career, and so far all he’s got to show for it is zero points and a 10 place grid penalty, so effectively 2 races wasted and the next one compromised. Pretty unlucky, even by Aussie-in-a-Redbull standards.

    On the bright side, could make entertaining viewing if he can make his way up through the field in Bahrain and another good opportunity to show his racing skills. Will be tough fighting against mostly Mercedes engined cars though.

  56. It’s too late now as the rules have been applied as they are written. But is there an argument for punishing the team separately from the driver? For example, for unsafe release the team is ‘fined’ 5 constructors points, or points equal to the team’s highest finish with one car, or 50% of the team’s highest race points score, or whatever formula is deemed fair and equivalent between all the teams.

  57. Has red bull forgot that webber is no longer driving this car and don’t need to make mistakes to stuff up his race.

    All the people that keep saying this is a team sport and if a team makes a mistake then the driver also has to suffer should think about why we have a drivers championship and also a constructors championship

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