{"id":257341,"date":"2025-11-02T10:09:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-02T10:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/257341\/"},"modified":"2025-11-02T10:09:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-02T10:09:14","slug":"which-penalty-calls-did-f1s-stewards-get-right-and-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/257341\/","title":{"rendered":"Which penalty calls did F1\u2019s stewards get right – and wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"

Formula 1\u2019s stewards have had a busy time over the last six rounds, especially in Mexico City and Austin. However they arguably took too much on at Zandvoort, where they ended up reversing one of their penalty decisions.<\/p>\n

Should they have reconsidered any of the other calls they made over the last half-dozen rounds? Give your views on all the most recent incidents below and look back on our users\u2019 views on other penalties from earlier in the season here:<\/p>\n

Dutch Grand Prix
\nSainz-Lawson collision
\n\"Liam<\/a>The stewards retroactively cancelled Sainz\u2019s penalty for colliding with Leclerc<\/p>\n

It\u2019s rare for a penalty to be rescinded in Formula 1, but it has happened already this year following Carlos Sainz Jnr\u2019s<\/a> tangle with Liam Lawson at Zandvoort. The stewards gave Sainz a 10-second time penalty and two penalty points on his licence, then withdrew them. The time penalty could not be removed but the penalty points were.<\/p>\n

Sainz was trying to pass Lawson on the outside of Tarzan when the pair touched. Racing Bulls originally accused the Williams driver of \u201ccrashing into\u201d their car but after the penalty was withdrawn Lawson accepted it had been a \u201cracing incident\u201d.<\/p>\n

As our poll referred to the stewards\u2019 original decision it has been closed to avoid confusion.<\/p>\n

Sainz’s penalty for causing a collision with Lawson was:<\/p>\n

\t\tNo opinion (3%)
\n\t\tFar too lenient (0%)
\n\t\tSlightly too lenient (0%)
\n\t\tCorrect (13%)
\n\t\tSlightly too harsh (17%)
\n\t\tFar too harsh (67%)<\/p>\n

Total Voters: 128<\/p>\n

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Antonelli-Leclerc collision<\/p>\n

Andrea Kimi Antonelli<\/a> ended Charles Leclerc\u2019s race with a lunge at the Hugenholzbocht. The stewards ruled he was \u201coverly optimistic\u201d and gave him a 10-second time penalty.<\/p>\n

Antonelli’s penalty for causing a collision with Leclerc was:<\/p>\n

\t\tNo opinion (0%)
\n\t\tFar too lenient (19%)
\n\t\tSlightly too lenient (19%)
\n\t\tCorrect (62%)
\n\t\tSlightly too harsh (0%)
\n\t\tFar too harsh (0%)<\/p>\n

Total Voters: 26<\/p>\n

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Russell-Leclerc incident
\n\"Isack<\/a>The stewards changed their minds over whether Leclerc left the track while passing Russell<\/p>\n

Did Leclerc pass George Russell<\/a> off the track at Zandvoort? The Ferrari driver was originally noted for exceeding track limits when he overtook the Mercedes driver at turn 12. However when the stewards spoke to the pair they decided \u201cthe available evidence was inconclusive as to whether car 16 left the track\u201d and issued no penalty.<\/p>\n

How should the stewards have ruled on the Russell-Leclerc incident?<\/p>\n

\t\tNo opinion (3%)
\n\t\tStrong penalty for Leclerc (11%)
\n\t\tLight penalty for Leclerc (22%)
\n\t\tNo penalty for either driver (59%)
\n\t\tLight penalty for Russell (5%)
\n\t\tStrong penalty for Russell (0%)<\/p>\n

Total Voters: 79<\/p>\n

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Italian Grand Prix
\nOcon-Stroll incident<\/p>\n

The stewards ruled Esteban Ocon<\/a> forced Lance Stroll off on the approach to the Roggia chicane early in the race. Ocon claimed on his radio the incident occured because the track became narrower at that point.<\/p>\n

Ocon’s penalty for forcing Stroll off was…<\/p>\n

\t\tNo opinion (6%)
\n\t\tFar too lenient (0%)
\n\t\tSlightly too lenient (3%)
\n\t\tCorrect (60%)
\n\t\tSlightly too harsh (17%)
\n\t\tFar too harsh (14%)<\/p>\n

Total Voters: 35<\/p>\n

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Bearman-Sainz incident
\n\"Oliver<\/a>Bearman was penalised for his tangle with Sainz<\/p>\n

Sainz was again involved in contact while trying to pass a rival at Monza. This time he tangled with Oliver Bearman<\/a> and the stewards decided the Haas driver was to blame, issuing a 10-second time penalty.<\/p>\n

Bearman’s penalty for his incident with Sainz was…<\/p>\n

\t\tNo opinion (2%)
\n\t\tFar too lenient (2%)
\n\t\tSlightly too lenient (4%)
\n\t\tCorrect (15%)
\n\t\tSlightly too harsh (19%)
\n\t\tFar too harsh (58%)<\/p>\n

Total Voters: 53<\/p>\n

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Antonelli-Albon incident<\/p>\n

Antonelli got himself in trouble for the second race in a row when he squeezed Alexander Albon<\/a> at the Curva Grande. He received a five-second time penalty this time, and Albon managed to pass the Mercedes.<\/p>\n

Antonelli’s penalty for his incident with Albon was…<\/p>\n

\t\tNo opinion (10%)
\n\t\tFar too lenient (0%)
\n\t\tSlightly too lenient (13%)
\n\t\tCorrect (52%)
\n\t\tSlightly too harsh (10%)
\n\t\tFar too harsh (16%)<\/p>\n

Total Voters: 31<\/p>\n

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Azerbaijan Grand Prix
\nAlbon-Colapinto incident<\/p>\n

In Azerbaijan Albon was judged the aggressor, copping a 10-second time penalty for knocking Franco Colapinto<\/a> wide at turn five. \u201cI\u2019ll hold my hand up,\u201d the Williams driver said afterwards, accepting the blame.<\/p>\n

Albon’s penalty for his collision with Colapinto was:<\/p>\n

\t\tNo opinion (0%)
\n\t\tFar too lenient (0%)
\n\t\tSlightly too lenient (0%)
\n\t\tCorrect (83%)
\n\t\tSlightly too harsh (17%)
\n\t\tFar too harsh (0%)<\/p>\n

Total Voters: 18<\/p>\n

\"Loading\u00a0Loading …<\/p>\n

United States Grand Prix \u2013 sprint race
\n\"Start,<\/a>Contact between Piastri and Hulkenberg took out Norris and Alonso in Austin
\nFirst-lap collision<\/p>\n

Following an uneventful race in Singapore the sprint race at Austin began with a bang. Both McLaren drivers were eliminated at the first corner along with Fernando Alonso<\/a> in a pile-up which also left Nico Hulkenberg with damage.<\/p>\n

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown initially blamed the Sauber driver but later retracted his comments. The stewards decided no one was to blame.<\/p>\n

Should any driver have been penalised for the first-lap collision in the Austin sprint race?<\/p>\n

\t\tNo driver should have been penalised (71%)
\n\t\tAnother driver should have been penalised (0%)
\n\t\tFernando Alonso should have been penalised (2%)
\n\t\tNico Hulkenberg should have been penalised (3%)
\n\t\tOscar Piastri should have been penalised (22%)
\n\t\tLando Norris should have been penalised (1%)<\/p>\n

Total Voters: 89<\/p>\n

\"Loading\u00a0Loading …<\/p>\n

Stroll-Ocon collision<\/p>\n

Later in the sprint race Stroll made an ambitious attempt to pass Ocon at turn one but succeeded only in taking the Haas driver out. Stroll apologised after he was given a five-place grid drop for the grand prix.<\/p>\n

Lance Stroll’s penalty for his collision with Esteban Ocon is:<\/p>\n

\t\tNo opinion (0%)
\n\t\tFar too lenient (25%)
\n\t\tSlightly too lenient (15%)
\n\t\tCorrect (60%)
\n\t\tSlightly too harsh (0%)
\n\t\tFar too harsh (0%)<\/p>\n

Total Voters: 20<\/p>\n

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Bearman-Antonelli incident<\/p>\n

Bearman was relieved not to collect more penalty points for going off the track at turn 15 while fighting Antonelli, though he did receive a 10-second time penalty which dropped him far out of the points positions.<\/p>\n

Bearman’s penalty for leaving the track was:<\/p>\n

\t\tNo opinion (0%)
\n\t\tFar too lenient (0%)
\n\t\tSlightly too lenient (0%)
\n\t\tCorrect (53%)
\n\t\tSlightly too harsh (17%)
\n\t\tFar too harsh (30%)<\/p>\n

Total Voters: 30<\/p>\n

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United States Grand Prix
\nSainz-Antonelli collision<\/p>\n

There was more drama for Antonelli at the same corner in the grand prix. Sainz made a bid to pass him on the inside but knocked the Mercedes into a spin. Antonelli continued but Sainz retired and received a five-place grid penalty for the next race.<\/p>\n

Sainz’s penalty for his collision with Antonelli was:<\/p>\n

\t\tNo opinion (0%)
\n\t\tFar too lenient (0%)
\n\t\tSlightly too lenient (2%)
\n\t\tCorrect (64%)
\n\t\tSlightly too harsh (20%)
\n\t\tFar too harsh (13%)<\/p>\n

Total Voters: 45<\/p>\n

\"Loading\u00a0Loading …<\/p>\n

Bearman-Tsunoda incident
\n\"Oliver<\/a>Bearman furiously criticised Tsunoda\u2019s driving after spinning while trying to pass him<\/p>\n

There was more frustration for Bearman in the grand prix as he accused Yuki Tsunoda<\/a> of dangerous driving by changing his line in a braking zone when he came under attack at turn 15. Despite Haas\u2019s lobbying<\/a>, the stewards did not even investigate the incident.<\/p>\n

Should Bearman or Tsunoda have faced a penalty for their incident at turn 15?<\/p>\n

\t\tNo opinion (3%)
\n\t\tStrong penalty for Tsunoda (29%)
\n\t\tLight penalty for Tsunoda (37%)
\n\t\tNo penalty for either driver (24%)
\n\t\tLight penalty for Bearman (3%)
\n\t\tStrong penalty for Bearman (5%)<\/p>\n

Total Voters: 38<\/p>\n

\"Loading\u00a0Loading …<\/p>\n

Mexican Grand Prix
\nFirst-lap corner cutting
\n\"Start,<\/a>Five drivers missed turn two at the start in Mexico<\/p>\n

No fewer than five drivers \u2013 one-quarter of the field \u2013 cut the second corner on the first lap of the Mexican Grand Prix, prompting accusations from many of their rivals that they had gained positions. The stewards took no action. Russell and Alonso were especially aggrieved, the latter ranting furiously about race control on his radio<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Should any drivers have been penalised for cutting turn two at the start?<\/p>\n

\t\tNo driver should have been penalised (7%)
\n\t\tLawson should have been penalised (12%)
\n\t\tSainz should have been penalised (13%)
\n\t\tAntonelli should have been penalised (13%)
\n\t\tVerstappen should have been penalised (29%)
\n\t\tLeclerc should have been penalised (27%)<\/p>\n

Total Voters: 114<\/p>\n

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Hamilton-Verstappen collision at turn one<\/p>\n

Lewis Hamilton<\/a> was astonished to receive a penalty after Max Verstappen collided with him while passing the Ferrari at turn one. Verstappen also cut across the inside of turn three during the exchange between the pair.<\/p>\n

Should the stewards have issued a penalty for the contact between Verstappen and Hamilton at turn one?<\/p>\n

\t\tNo opinion (0%)
\n\t\tStrong penalty for Verstappen (19%)
\n\t\tLight penalty for Verstappen (28%)
\n\t\tNo penalty for either driver (39%)
\n\t\tLight penalty for Hamilton (12%)
\n\t\tStrong penalty for Hamilton (3%)<\/p>\n

Total Voters: 69<\/p>\n

\"Loading\u00a0Loading …<\/p>\n

Hamilton-Verstappen incident at turn four<\/p>\n

The pair continued their fight at turn four where both drivers left the track. Hamilton went further wide than Verstappen and rejoined ahead of him, earning a 10-second time penalty.<\/p>\n

Hamilton’s penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage at turn four was:<\/p>\n

\t\tNo opinion (0%)
\n\t\tFar too lenient (0%)
\n\t\tSlightly too lenient (1%)
\n\t\tCorrect (25%)
\n\t\tSlightly too harsh (37%)
\n\t\tFar too harsh (37%)<\/p>\n

Total Voters: 68<\/p>\n

\"Loading\u00a0Loading …<\/p>\n

A RaceFans account is required in order to vote. If you do not have one, register an account here<\/a> or read more about registering here<\/a>. When this poll is closed the result will be displayed instead of the voting form. <\/p>\n

Debates and polls
\nBrowse all debates and polls<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Formula 1\u2019s stewards have had a busy time over the last six rounds, especially in Mexico City and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":257342,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,817,813,816,85],"class_list":["post-257341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}