The Haas F1 team and its drivers Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen were summoned by the race marshals last night in Baku for a potential violation of pitlane rules.
It has been hypothesized that the two drivers, when they entered the line of cars waiting to leave the pitlane to start Q1, violated the regulation that prevents the drivers from going inside.
Article 34.8 of the F1 Sporting Regulations states: “The cars that reach the end of the pit lane before the start of the resumption of a practice session must form a line in the fast lane and start again in the order in which they are placed. you arrive, unless another car is unduly late “.
Magnussen and Schumacher exited after a long queue had formed in the pits and got into the middle of the pack instead of waiting for everyone to pass.
After reviewing the footage of the incident, however, the commissioners decided not to take further action as Haas had been placed in a difficult position.
As the cars queued very early at the end of the pit lane to prepare for the start of Q1, Haas found it impossible to leave their garage and know exactly where they should line up in order.
Mick Schumacher, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
The stewards said they “accept that the positioning of the team’s box made it impossible in the circumstances for both team cars to line up in order in the fast lane, taking into account the number of cars that were already present”.
“It is noted that both cars started safely and that it would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the team to determine the starting order of the cars, leaving the only option to start behind all the other cars.”
“This effectively means that teams assigned to the pits when exiting the pit lane will always have to exit last, unless they choose to leave their garage much earlier.”
In response, the stewards recommended reviewing the regulations to try to improve the situation, especially as it wasn’t the first time the team at the bottom of the pit had been in these circumstances.
Already on the occasion of the Mexican Grand Prix of 2021, Williams had found itself being recalled in similar circumstances. But even in that case no action had been taken.
The question of pit lane rules will likely be discussed at the next meeting between the race officials and the FIA, which discusses issues and potential changes to the regulations before they are submitted to the F1 Commission.
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