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Lewis Hamilton is amongst a group of drivers awarded further penalties after the Austrian Grand Prix (Feature Image Credit: @MercedesAMGF1 on Twitter)

Further grid penalties rip up Austrian GP finishing order, Hamilton demoted

Race characterised by track limits descends into farce post race as more penalties applied

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A variety of post-race time penalties have been awarded, following an appeal from Aston Martin.

Esteban Ocon and Alpine have been hammered by post-race time penalties following the Austrian Grand Prix (Image Credit: @AlpineF1team on Twitter)
Esteban Ocon and Alpine have been hammered by post-race time penalties following the Austrian Grand Prix (Image Credit: @AlpineF1team on Twitter)

The Austrian Grand Prix was characterised by an impressive amount of overtaking. Substantial time penalties for track limits violations also defined the race.

Post-race, it seems Aston Martin was not happy with the FIA’s governance of track limits. The team submitted evidence that multiple drivers had breached track limits during the race. The FIA accepted this evidence and has handed down further penalties.

The penalties range from 5 seconds to a race-ruining 30 seconds. This has effectively rewritten parts of the top ten finishers in today’s race. McLaren’s Lando Norris, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and both Red Bulls have survived the res-classification, but others in the top ten have not been so fortunate.

Who has been penalised?

The biggest loser in terms of time lost to penalties is Alpine’s, Esteban Ocon. The Frenchman has received a massive 30-second time penalty for multiple violations. He drops from P12 to P14. Teammate Pierre Gasly also drops back a place to P1o, having been awarded a single 5-second time penalty.

Track time lost through penalties has hit Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz hard. He loses P4, dropping behind Norris and Fernando Alonso, dropping to P6. Given Sainz’s spirited drive in the race, the Spaniard is likely to be crushed by the res-classification.

Lewis Hamilton complained about the handling of his Mercedes all afternoon, he drops behind teammate George Russell into P8. Outside the top ten, multiple drivers also saw their hard efforts during the race evaporate as a result of Aston Martin’s appeal.

Under pressure, Nyck de Vries endured a horror race, which also included forcing Kevin Magnussen’s Haas off the track. De Vries received a 15 second penalty for two incidents, dropping from P15 to P17. Teammate Yuki Tsunoda received a further 5-second penalty, after a race that saw him pit on lap one after damaging the front of his AlphaTauri.

Logan Sargeant’s best race of the season so far has remained unaffected. Although outside of the points during the race, he finished a commendable P13. A ten-second time penalty sees him keep this position.

What has the FIA said?

In a statement alongside the new race result, the FIA has urged a solution be found. As reported by Sky Sports, the stewards said:

“Regarding the track limits infringements at the 2023 FIA Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix, we note that due to the specifics of the circuit layout and the propensity of many drivers to repeatedly drive outside of the boundaries of the track, an unprecedented situation arose which resulted in all potential infringements not being able to be reviewed during the race.

“Prior to the submission of a Protest against the result, we had already begun a full review of the track limits infringements, which is ongoing.

“During the Grand Prix, Race Control was tasked with reviewing well over 1200 instances where a car was reported as potentially leaving the track.

“The results will be updated once the review of those which were not able to be reviewed during the race is complete.

“In order to address the issue for future events we will renew our recommendation to the circuit to add a gravel trap at the exit of turns 9 and 10.

“We note that while this is not a straightforward solution in relation to other series that race here, it has proved to be very effective at other corners and circuits with similar issues.”

Final classification

With a total of 83 lap times deleted in the race, the new finishing order is radically different. Alpine has been hit the worst, with a total of 35 seconds added to their race time:

The revised finishing order of the Austrian Grand Prix after more penalties were applied (Image Credit: FIA)
The revised finishing order of the Austrian Grand Prix after more penalties were applied (Image Credit: FIA)

 

Feature Image Credit: @MercedesAMGF1 on Twitter

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