F1 | Las Vegas GP – Fines handed after Friday: Ferrari and Alpine under scrutiny
The stewards’ Friday at Las Vegas was intense, with several teams under observation during both Free Practice and Qualifying. It’s worth noting that in the United States, the weekend schedule is shifted by one day compared to the usual calendar, allowing European viewers, with the nine-hour time difference, to follow the standard timetable. None of the investigations, however, resulted in severe track penalties; only monetary fines were imposed.
The day started with a 100-euro fine for Ferrari, as Lewis Hamilton exceeded the pit lane speed limit by just 0.1 km/h. A minor infraction, likely caused by a limiter malfunction, but always closely scrutinized by race control. For the British driver, perhaps it was an ominous sign of challenges to come.
During qualifying, the stewards investigated Carlos Sainz for allegedly rejoining the track in an unsafe manner, but the available data cleared the Spanish driver, allowing him to keep his third-place starting position. The spotlight then turned to two teams: Mercedes and Alpine. Mercedes faced accusations of failing to submit setup documents to the FIA before parc fermé, with disqualification seemingly imminent. However, the team demonstrated that the email had been sent within the deadline but had not been received due to a technical issue. For Toto Wolff’s team, this resulted in a No Further Action (NFA) decision.
Alpine, on the other hand, faced a different fate. The team left the session 5,000 euros lighter after failing to upload the number of tires used to the FIA’s electronic systems. While not impacting their track performance directly, the fine served as a reminder of the importance of administrative compliance in Formula 1.
Bottom line
No grid drops, no time penalties, no disqualifications – just a few thousand euros changing hands. In Vegas terms, that barely covers a round of drinks on the Strip. The real drama is still to come when the lights go out on Sunday night.
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