Mercedes fined €10,000 for tyre pressure breach in F1 Sao Paulo GP

Mercedes have been fined €10,000 for adjusting tyre pressures on both of their cars ahead of the F1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Mercedes engineers were seen making adjustments to their tyres on the grid after the initial race start was aborted.

Such actions are in breach of TD003 and thus it was referred to the stewards.

FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer noted that Mercedes had released pressure from the tyres on both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell’s car.

The stewards have decided to fine Mercedes €10,000 after concluding “tyre pressures were adjusted (pressure released) with wheels already fitted to the car in contravention to TD003.”

The fine means Russell keeps his fourth-place finish in Sao Paulo, while Hamilton holds on to the final point in 10th.

The stewards gave the following reasons: “After the race start was aborted the 10 minute notice was immediately given for the new start. Given the layout of the circuit and the access point to the grid from the pit lane the time period for the team to get to the grid was extended. The gate to access the grid was not immediately opened. The FIA accepted that given this short notice it was extremely difficult if not impossible for the teams to follow the procedure prescribed in the technical directive.

“The FIA Technical Delegate stipulated that the tyre pressures while having been adjusted by the team was within the allowed parameters.

“Given the unusual circumstances surrounding the compressed time table, aborted start, the grid access logistics and given the stipulation from the Technical Delegate that the tyre pressures were within the correct parameters, the Stewards determine that a fine for a breach of procedure is appropriate in this case. Normally a breach of this nature, within a competitive session would carry a sporting penalty but it is not appropriate in this case. However, this decision should not be considered as a precedent for any similar breach in the future as the circumstances are considered unique.”