Perez's weird formation lap incident explained
Cadillac driver Sergio Perez escaped with only a warning after being investigated for a breach of the FIA Sporting Regulations during the formation lap of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Perez, who was due to start the race from the pit lane, was investigated for being out of position at Safety Car Line 1 (SC1) at the end of the formation lap, an alleged breach of Article B5.6.4 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations.
After hearing from the Mexican driver and a Cadillac team representative, as well as reviewing video evidence, the FIA stewards concluded that Perez had indeed committed the infringement. They found that Car 11 was ahead of Car 77 as it crossed the SC1 line before entering the pit lane.
Perez explained that his focus was on completing the pit lane start procedure correctly. Due to the Hungaroring's relatively short pit lane and the close proximity of the final car on the starting grid to the pit entry, he was concentrating on reaching the pit exit lights as quickly as possible. As a result, he was unaware that he had moved ahead of Valtteri Bottas before crossing the SC1 line.
While the stewards ruled that Perez had breached the regulations, they also took into account the unique circumstances of the incident. Because the Cadillac driver was already entering the pit lane to start the race from there, the mandatory penalty for the infringement—a pit lane start—had effectively already been served.
"The Stewards determined that this constituted a breach of Article B5.6.4 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations," the decision stated. "However, the Stewards also noted that Car 11 was entering the pit lane to start the race from the pit lane and hence the mandatory penalty of a pit lane start was redundant."
As a result, the stewards concluded that issuing a warning was the most appropriate sanction rather than imposing any additional sporting penalty.
The decision ensured Perez's race was unaffected, with the warning serving as a reminder to observe the correct formation lap procedures despite the unusual circumstances surrounding a pit lane start.
