30/08/2025 07:46
Mercedes has been penalised following an incident between George
Russell and Fernando Alonso in the closing stages of final practice
at Zandvoort. The Mercedes driver was investigated by the FIA
stewards at the Dutch Grand Prix following alleged erratic driving
at the pit entry with 11 minutes remaining in the session. Russell
cruised along the racing line before veering across the
start/finish straight in an attempt to enter the pit lane, without
realising Alonso was alongside on a hot lap. The near-miss caused
Alonso to enter the pit lane, whilst Russell took late avoiding
action and completed another lap. After hearing from both drivers
in the summons, it was decided that the King's Lynn-born driver had
breached Article 37.5 of the sporting regulations. As a result,
Russell has received a warning, whilst Mercedes has been handed a
€7,500 fine. Mercedes has received the more severe punishment due
to the stewards believing Russell was not correctly informed of
Alonso's position on the circuit, creating a "dangerous
situation". The stewards' report read: "The Stewards heard from
the driver of Car 63 (George Russell), the driver of Car 14
(Fernando Alonso), team representatives and reviewed video, timing,
team radio and in-car video evidence. "Car 14 was on a push lap
and was exiting Turn 14 when Car 63 was on a slow lap and had been
instructed to enter the pits. Car 14 went on the inside of Car 63
in an attempt to complete the lap but Car 63, taking a wide line
before entering the pits, nearly collided with Car 14 at pit
entry. "Car 63 took evasive action and aborted the pit entry and
continued on the track. Car 14 had to abort the lap and enter the
pit lane to avoid a collision. It was clear to us that Car 63 had
not been warned of the fact that Car 14 was approaching and that it
was on a push lap. "The team admitted this at the hearing and
acknowledged that they ought to have warned the driver of Car 63
but did not do so. Their failure created a dangerous situation
where both cars had to take evasive action to avoid a collision.
"We accept that the driver of Car 63 had no way of knowing that Car
14 was approaching, particularly given the nature of the circuit
and the fact that Turn 14 is a blind corner. Merely looking at the
mirrors would not have prevented what occurred. "We accordingly
imposed a fine of €7,500 on the team for failing to warn their
driver appropriately. Nevertheless, given the nature of the circuit
and the slow speed at which he was travelling, it would have been
prudent for Car 63 to have kept more to the right of the track to
leave space for faster cars coming around that corner. We also
administer a warning to the driver for this."
