George Russell escapes F1 penalty for DRS misuse in Bahrain Grand Prix

George Russell has escaped a post-race penalty from the F1 stewards at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Russell was under investigation after a possible DRS infringement during the latter stages of the race in Bahrain.

The Mercedes driver was managing a number of bizarre electrical gremlins as he looked to fend off Lando Norris for P2.

When he pressed the team radio button, it opened the DRS on his Mercedes F1 car.

This took place outside the designated DRS zone and thus would normally contravene the rules.

However, amid the various issues for Russell during the race, the stewards have let him off.

They felt that he gained no sporting advantage.

This means Russell keeps his second-place finish at the Bahrain International Circuit.

It's been a remarkable start to the year for Russell at Mercedes.

He sits fourth in the F1 drivers' championship, just 14 points off Norris after four rounds. 

Why wasn't Russell penalised?

The stewards offered the following explanation: “The connection between the automated DRS activation system and the car failed due to issues with a timing loop provided by an external party.

“Therefore the FIA authorised manual activation of the DRS in accordance with Article 22.1 h). At the time the driver was experiencing a brake-by-wire issue and other electronic issues.

“He was at that time advised to use an auxiliary button in the cockpit which serves as a back up radio button but also serves as a manual DRS activation button.

“On the straight between turns 10 and 11 he tried to radio the team using this button but instead accidentally activated the DRS. The DRS was activated for a distance of 37 metres on a straight of approximately 700 metres.

“Whilst he gained 0.02 seconds, he gave up 0.28 seconds at the next corner to compensate. This was confirmed by telemetry.

“Accordingly whilst technically a breach occurred the Stewards decide that as there was no sporting advantage gained, no penalty is imposed.”