Perez and Raikkonen’s penalties compared to Leclerc-Verstappen: similarities and differences. The Imola race presented several borderline situations from a regulatory point of view.

The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix held on Sunday in Imola presented some intricate regulatory issues. In addition to the particular case of Lewis Hamilton, whose reversal on to the Imola racetrack was not punished because it was deemed not dangerous, three controversial episodes attracted the attention of fans.

1) The penalty imposed by Sergio Perez during the race.

2) The penalty inflicted on Kimi Raikkonen after the race.

3) The situation that saw Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc as protagonists on the occasion of the rolling restart after the red flag.

Let’s try to explain the similarities and differences between these three episodes and above all the regulatory reasons that led to the various decisions.

Penalty for Sergio Perez
The Mexican went off the track in the fifth lap, during the Safety Car period, introduced following the accident of Nicholas Latifi. Perez ends up in the gravel at Piratella, is overtaken for a few moments by the cars of Ricciardo and Gasly and returns to the track. He then decides to regain the lost positions, with the drivers of McLaren and Alpha Tauri slowing down to let him pass. However, the regulation says that under the SC regime a driver who leaves the track and loses a position cannot regain it. Hence the 10-second penalty for ‘Checo’, for overtaking under the Safety Car.

Penalty for Kimi Raikkonen
Former Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen finished ninth for Alfa Romeo, but was relegated after the race to 13th place due to a 30-second penalty applied to his final time. Kimi spun at the Tamburello in the first warm-up at before the restart, being overtaken by Hamilton and Tsunoda. Although driving behind the safety car, that specific situation is however regulated differently. It is in fact equivalent to the warm-up lap before the start. In this case the driver must hold his position. Raikkonen could therefore have resumed his place in the group, provided that this happened before the Safety Car line. The Finn, on the other hand, did not. At this point, he should have gone into the pit lane and started from there, but it didn’t. Hence his penalty.

The Max Verstappen – Charles Leclerc ‘case’
Based on these precedents, one can hypothesize what would have happened if Charles Leclerc had overtaken Max Verstappen when the Red Bull driver spun just before the start, after the red flag. If Ferrari had taken the lead and the Dutchman had not passed in front of the Safety Car line, in theory Verstappen would have had to start from the pit lane, as Raikkonen should have done. Or he would have been penalized with a 10 second stop & go. However, this is a gray area. If the 2007 World Champion’s departure from the track is indeed obvious, that of the Red Bull was much less so. In fact, Charles Leclerc overtaking him could have risked a penalty of his own, if Max Verstappen’s car was not considered off-track by the race direction. A risk that the Monegasque preferred not to take.