On the chequered flag of the Bahrain Grand Prix, George Russell’s Mercedes finishes in second place, however the Briton’s result’s shaky. Automobile #63 was in truth famous by the stewards for having opened the DRS at a time when it wasn’t allowed and should face a prolonged dialogue with FIA stewards to make clear the incident. The one who may gain advantage from a doable penalty for George Russell is Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who crossed the end line only a few seconds behind the Brit. But, within the post-race part, the Prancing Horse didn’t push for a sanction in opposition to the rival driver: why?
Smooth Ferrari: no stress for a George Russell penalty
Formulation One is, as we all know, the head of motorsport competitors, and each element could make the distinction. Initially of a season nonetheless with none podiums, many had been shocked by the politically passive perspective of the Maranello group concerning the potential penalty for George Russell, which might have delivered Leclerc’s first podium of 2025. Within the post-race interview with Sky Italia, Ferrari group principal Fred Vasseur even downplayed what occurred with the Mercedes driver. “He misplaced the transponder so we had neither the info nor the GPS. I feel it was his mistake, however I don’t suppose they’ll penalise him as a result of the benefit was actually small.”
Then nothing extra. Nobody from the Ferrari storage raised their voice to try to seize the season’s first podium after the race. Following an extended dialogue after the occasion, the Federation determined to show a blind eye to the Russell episode, after verifying Mercedes’s technical difficulties and the minimal benefit gained by the Brit.
Not simply George Russell: DRS additionally opened for Charles Leclerc
To search out a solution for Ferrari’s lack of “stress” in direction of the FIA stewards, it could be helpful to contemplate two episodes: a group radio from Charles Leclerc and an onboard shot from the Monegasque’s SF-25. Russell wasn’t the one one to open the DRS at a forbidden second. Charles Leclerc himself, seemingly as a consequence of the transponder situation with the Mercedes forward of him, opened the rear wing for a fraction of a second whereas going by means of a nook. Noticing this anomaly, the Monegasque promptly requested his engineer Bryan Bozzi: “What the hell occurred? Why do I’ve the DRS lively?” The engineer’s reply was clear: “There was an issue with the transponders, use the DRS solely after I let you know.”
The anomalous DRS opening on automobile #16 was additionally captured by one of many onboard cameras on the SF-25. From the rear-facing digital camera, which was monitoring an attacking Lando Norris, you possibly can clearly see Leclerc’s DRS abruptly open in flip 12.
Did Ferrari keep away from “pushing” the stewards to keep away from an investigation into Charles Leclerc? Or, contemplating the seemingly connection between the 2 incidents, ought to the Italian group have tried to exert some type of “political stress” on the FIA?
LECLERC PUSO EL DRS EN MITAD DE UNA CURVA.
Lo quito rápidamente, pero ni se ha anotado esto.
📰 Créditos a @ramsescr63
— ElReyGuiri (@ElReyGuiri) April 13, 2025
— see video above —-
Supply: f1ingenerale
Purchase official Ferrari F1 merchandise!
Let different Scuderia Followers learn about us
