Why George Russell Escaped a Grid Penalty for Yellow Flag Offence in Baku: FIA Explains Decision

Reason George Russell avoided F1 grid penalty for yellow flag violation in Baku

George Russell has been reprimanded rather than penalized on the grid for not reducing his speed during yellow flag conditions.

The FIA has announced that George Russell will only get a reprimand following an investigation into claims that he didn't slow down enough when yellow flags were displayed.

Russell delivered another strong performance on Saturday, earning himself the fourth starting position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The recent qualifying victory by the British driver over Lewis Hamilton secures his overall win in their yearly competition.

Russell's fourth-place finish was uncertain as the FIA revealed they were investigating a possible violation involving a yellow flag.

Motorists typically need to reduce their speed upon noticing yellow flags, and the majority comply adequately.

Russell managed to avoid a grid penalty and received only a reprimand.

The officials reached this conclusion because they believed Russell couldn't have reasonably noticed the yellow flag and behaved correctly given his position on the track.

The officials also cited a prior incident with Charles Leclerc during the third practice session.

The FIA provided the following clarification: "This situation closely resembled the ruling made by this group of Stewards concerning Charles Leclerc, but there were some notable distinctions."

At Turn 2, Sainz went off into the runoff area. Following him was Russell, who was fully engaged in his braking maneuver. Unlike Leclerc, Russell had already started turning into the corner when the yellow flag appeared on the far right of the runoff zone. The Stewards determined that it was unreasonable to expect Russell to have noticed the flag, and even if he had, it would have been impossible for him to alter his braking at that moment.

After Russell turned the corner, he picked up speed as usual. In contrast to Leclerc, the green light panel positioned between turns 2 and 3 was much farther down the track, making it more difficult for Russell to see at the time he was accelerating. However, in the end, Russell did notice the green signal.

"Russell missed out on the advantage of DRS in that area as it was deactivated, causing his lap to be slower. The Stewards highlighted several mitigating factors in the Leclerc decision. In this instance, the Stewards believe there are additional mitigating circumstances."

"Nevertheless, for safety reasons, drivers must recognize that if they spot a car in a runoff area, a green light means they are within a yellow sector. They should then respond by easing off the throttle or at least limiting their acceleration, as other incidents might occur within the yellow zone."

“In these specific conditions, especially since the yellow flag was not visible, the Stewards have decided to issue a Driving Reprimand instead of a harsher penalty.”

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