By: Farah Saleh
Miss me right? I miss you too. In fact I was planning on celebrating the Ferrari win with you but unfortunately I was hit with the flu. Because if we know one thing, we know that it’s coughing season. And although I didn’t have a big boy to take care of me while I was sick, the Ferrari P1 and P2 were warming my heart enough.
Last week, Sergio Perez received a penalty for impeding Nico Hulkenberg and dropped from P3 to P6 and during the race, Fernando Alonso received a 20 seconds penalty that dropped him to P8 after George Russel's crash.
Now, what is the difference between the two penalties and how they are applies?
Let's understand first what is a penalty?
A penalty is a punishment that falls on the driver for several reasons, including overtaking another driver during a yellow flag, speeding at the Pitlane, impeding another driver, or causing a crash. The ones who decide and apply these penalties are the stewards who do that according to the rules and laws of formula 1 and the FIA.
There are different kinds of penalties:
Drive Through: This penalty is when the driver enters the pitlane, he will be forced to continue driving at the specified speed without stopping to change the tires, which of course will cause him to lose time.
Stop-Go Penalties: A penalty that occurs when the driver reaches the pitlane to change the tires and is forced to stop for a specific period of time, which may be 5 seconds or 10 seconds, without changing anything or making any repairs to his vehicle.
These two penalties are applied during the race for minor violations such as speeding at the pitlane, unsafe realize from the pit stop, or overtaking during the yellow flag. This wasted time is considered a punishment.
Grid penalty: It is applied after qualifying and requires the driver to start the race from a position lower than the position in which he qualified in. Like what happened with Sergio Perez in Australia, when he qualified third but was forced to start from p6 because of the penalty. Other times, it is for technical reasons, such as changing the engine or mechanical components in excess of the number allocated for each season. Usually, minor changes to the engine and gearbox can cause the driver to drop 5 or 10 places, while major changes can cause him to start from the back of the grid.
Penalty Points: If a driver accumulates 12 penalty points within a 12-month period, he automatically gets banned from participating in a race. As soon as the driver serves this penalty, 12 months will be reset. The points he collects expire after 12 months since their imposition.
The driver with the most points accumulated last year is Sergio Perez, with a total of 7 points.
Race Disqualifications: This is a penalty imposed by the Stewards for several reasons, including violations they encounter in cars after the race or exceeding the fuel flow limits. The driver who is penalized loses any points, even if he is on the podium. His qualifying times will also be deleted, forcing him to start from the pits in the next race.
Season Disqualifications: This penalty is applied when major technical violations occur. that raise doubts about the team’s performance during the season, such as w using banned traction control systems. The FIA can disqualify an entire team from the Drivers' and constructors Championship, and the team will be stripped of all the points they earned during the season.
Now, I'm sure that the next time you hear the word penalty you will not be confused because your favorite Formula 1 teacher just saved your day again.
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