Minutes before the Suzuka race, an F1 star was given an odd Japanese Grand Prix penalty.
Logan Sargeant’s weekend took a turn for the worse when the stewards felt the need to penalize him before the start of the Suzuka race.
Logan Sargeant received a double penalty from the Formula 1 stewards just before the start of the Japanese Grand Prix, adding salt to his wounds.
At the start of qualifying on Saturday, the American wrecked.
He had to start at the back of the grid, which meant his Williams team had a big repair job to do before the main event.
They succeeded in finishing it on time.
To make sure the car was prepared to line up on the grid, a variety of modifications, including a chassis change, were made.
His chances of making a comeback in the race, however, were dashed when the stewards intervened. The team had developed more than the permitted survival cell, which was discovered by the FIA’s technical delegate, who expressed concern.
Sargeant was therefore instructed to begin from the pit lane.
His chances of moving up the order were further dashed when, to make matters worse, he was also assessed a 10-second time penalty prior to the start of his race.
“The relevant chassis was assembled to more than an assembly comprising a survival cell as defined in Article 27.2 of the Formula 1 sporting regulations and has to be considered as a third car available to the competitor,” stated an official document from the stewards.
“The technical delegate explained that parts with different specifications from those that were initially used during Q1 during parc fermé in his additional report document 29, which is available online.
The stewards concluded that during qualifying, the Williams Racing car number 02 suffered an accident in which Chassis 01 was irreparably damaged after hearing testimony from the driver, the technical delegate, and the single-seater director.
“Chassis 03 was later assembled to a level above that specified in Article 27.2 of the sporting regulations, which specifies the state of assembly for a chassis to be considered to be a car.
This was done after the qualifying session.
As a result, it was determined that the Williams Racing team had violated Article 27.1 of the Sporting Regulations, which states that no competitor may have more than two cars available at any given time while competing.
“Furthermore, it should be noted that there is a limited amount of time available during parc fermé for the assembly of a complete car; therefore, in the event of a serious accident, this may jeopardize a car’s participation in the race.
Additionally, it should be noted that car 2 has had its specifications changed, and as a result, is required by Article 40.9 to start the race from the pit lane in any case due to a different infraction.
“Starting from the pit lane is the minimum punishment for an offense, per TD 021/Issue G, dated August 22, 23.
The stewards also have the option of imposing additional sanctions.
A further penalty for having a third chassis available was appropriate because a start from pit lane is already imposed for the modification of parts.
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