F1: Leclerc, Verstappen and Hamilton handed suspended parc ferme fines

Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton have each received a suspended €10,000 fine for a Formula 1 parc ferme rules breach after the Austrian Grand Prix.

The summons cited all three had broken Article 12.2.1.j of the International Sporting Code, which states that an offense will have taken place if there is a “failure to follow the instructions of the relevant officials for the safe and orderly conduct of the Event.”

In notes that were sent to teams on Sunday morning, the FIA said: “Other than the team mechanics (with cooling fans if necessary), officials and FIA pre-approved television crews and FIA approved photographers, no one else will be allowed in the designated area at this time (no team PR personnel.

“Driver physios must wait outside the cool down room behind the podium until the podium ceremony has concluded).”

Following a hearing on Sunday evening, the stewards opted to hand all three teams a suspended fine of €10,000.

“The Stewards received a report from the Media Delegate, which was subsequently confirmed by video evidence, that the physio / drivers’ assistants of the top three finishers entered Parc Ferme without permission and in violation of the procedure that was published prior to the race ‘for the orderly conduct of the event,’” the FIA bulletin about the incident reads.

“In part this is to prevent handing over of items to the drivers prior to them being weighed.

“The Competitor is fined €10,000, which will be suspended for the remainder of the season pending any further violation of the procedure, and the competitors are warned that the passes of the individuals concerned may be revoked in case of systemic violation.”