Raikkonen receives second F1 reprimand of Mexico weekend
F1 veteran Raikkonen entered the pit lane after the bollard before realising his error and rejoining the circuit amid confusion when a red flag was flown following a big crash for Lance Stroll at the final corner.
Although the Finn breached the FIA’s code of driving conduct, Raikkonen appeared to have little time to react to the red flag as he was exiting the final corner and arrived at the pit lane entry just moments after Stroll’s accident.
“The problem was like in Austria this year, I was pretty much close to the line when the red light came on,” Raikkonen explained after qualifying.
“I don’t know, sometimes they want you to dive into the pits but when you’re still going at full speed it all comes at the last minute, so I don’t know what they’re going to say. I went slowly, so we’ll see.”
It is the second reprimand Raikkonen has received this season, one day after he was handed his first for a track limits transgression during opening practice on Friday in Mexico City.
McLaren’s Lando Norris was given a three-place penalty for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix earlier this year when he failed to pit under red flag conditions.
With Raikkonen avoiding such a penalty, he is set to start Sunday’s race from 10th.
Williams pair George Russell and Nicholas Latifi were also investigated after qualifying for not leaving the pit lane in the correct order at the start of Q1, but the FIA decided to take no further action over the incident.
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