Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Brendon Hartley has been handed a post Bahrain F1 Grand Prix race penalty after Formula 1 stewards penalised both Sergio Perez and Hartley 30 seconds each for not following correct procedure on the Bahrain Grand Prix formation lap. Hartley initially received a 10sec penalty for causing a first lap incident with Perez, when he spun the Force India driver at Turn 4.
The stewards summoned both drivers to a hearing after the race to discuss a separate incident that occurred between them before the race got underway, when Perez overtook Hartley on the formation lap. Hartley was slow away from the grid and Perez did not allow Hartley to recover position. Hartley failed to follow a procedure that dictates drivers who do not recover position before the first safety car line must start from the pitlane. Hartley was also handed two penalty points on his licence, taking his 12-month total to four while the penalties dropped the drivers to 16th and 17th in the results. It appears that Hartley was unsure of the correct procedure to follow.
“An amazing day for Toro Rosso but a disappointing day for me,” commented Hartley. “I had a good start and first couple of corners but had a small contact with Perez in Turn 4. This not only damaged my front wing for the remainder of the race but I was also given a 10 second time penalty.
“We had the pace to be comfortably in the points without the penalty so it was a bit frustrating. A big thanks to all at Toro Rosso and at Honda, it has been an amazing turn around since Melbourne which bodes well for the next few races.”
Meanwhile, Hartley’s team mate Pierre Gasly had a top result finishing fourth.
“Unbelievable, what an incredible day,” commented Gasly! “The second race of the season with Toro Rosso and Honda, and we finish P4. It’s just amazing, I’m so happy! A big thanks to the team because the car was fantastic! I had a nice fight with Magnussen and the pace was really good. I saw unfortunately both Red Bull cars had to stop, then after Raikkonen retired the team told me we had the opportunity to finish P4, so I gave everything to the end.
“The car has been fantastic since the beginning of the weekend, today I could just push flat out and the pace was great because I managed to pull away from the Haas. I need a bit of time to let this sink in, but we will definitely enjoy it with the team tonight! The start of the race was mega – I managed to overtake Ricciardo in Turn 1 which was great, after that it got a bit tricky when Magnussen overtook me in Turn 1,
“I knew I had to overtake him straight back because I would lose time and it would be difficult to catch him afterwards. Once I passed, I managed to keep him behind and push flat out while I was trying to manage the tyres, which we did pretty well. I think the pace was great so I’m just super happy.”
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