12 F1 drivers issued formal warning over restart crash

A formal warning has been issued to 12 Formula 1 drivers who were involved the dramatic restart crash that caused the Tuscan Grand Prix to be red-flagged.

Following a Safety Car period for a crash on the opening lap which eliminated Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly, F1’s first-ever race at Mugello was red-flagged on lap nine following a multi-car incident on the start-finish straight.

The scary collision led to the retirements of Kevin Magnussen, Antonio Giovinazzi, Nicholas Latifi and Carlos Sainz, with the McLaren driver suffering bruising to his hand.

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The aforementioned four drivers, along with Daniil Kvyat, Alex Albon, Lance Stroll, Daniel Ricciardo, Sergio Perez, Lando Norris, Esteban Ocon and George Russell all received formal warnings from the FIA for their roles in causing the crash.

“The stewards conclude that the root cause of this incident was the inconsistent application of throttle and brake, from the final corner along the pit straight, by the above drivers,” the Tuscan GP stewards said.

“The stewards acknowledge the challenges the location of the control line presents at this circuit and the desire of drivers to take advantage of the restart.

“However this incident demonstrates the need for caution to be exercised in the restart situation and note that there was an extreme concertina effect which dramatically increased as it moved down the field.

“We also note that some drivers might have avoided being involved in the incident had they not followed directly behind the car in front. By doing so they effectively blocked off all visibility of what was happening immediately in front of the preceding car.

“A warning has been imposed as it is the view of the stewards that no one driver was wholly or predominantly to blame.”