Cadillac F1 fined 30,000 euros

      Cadillac F1 has been fined 30,000 euros, of which 25,000 is a deferred penalty. The American team was punished for a rule violation that occurred during the first Friday practice: at that time, Colton Herta, who was substituting for Sergio Perez, managed to complete only five laps before his car stopped on the track near the second Lesmo (turn 7).

      This happened due to a hydraulic system failure, which, as the team assures, prevented the clutch from being disengaged, so the marshals could not move it from its position. As a result, the virtual safety car mode on the track was replaced by red flags, and the practice session was interrupted.

      However, the rules require that all cars be equipped with "a device that allows the clutch to be disengaged for at least 15 minutes after the engine stops, ...even in the event of a failure of the main hydraulic system, pneumatic system, or power failure."

      This year, a similar precedent occurred in Canada: Racing Bulls was fined 30,000 euros when Liam Lawson's car stopped on the track. The Italian team paid a third of this amount, while the remaining penalty was deferred for 12 months. Then, at the Monaco stage, similar sanctions were imposed on McLaren when Lando Norris's MCL40 stopped on the track during practice.

      The hearings regarding yesterday's incident involving Cadillac and Colton Herta were postponed to Saturday morning to give the team more time to gather information for their defense. However, their arguments did not convince the stewards, as it turned out that the technical failure was related to a component that the team receives from an external supplier. The team was also warned that if the clutch fails for the third time during the season, it will result in a sporting penalty rather than a monetary one.