Kimi Raikkonen, Nicholas Latifi and Nikita Mazepin all pick up post-race penalties in Austria; Raikkonen for Sebastian Vettel crash, Latifi and Mazepin for failing to slow under double-waved yellows; Eight other drivers cleared after seeing stewards
Monday 5 July 2021 06:14, UK
Kimi Raikkonen has been handed a penalty for his last-lap crash with Sebastian Vettel at the Austrian GP, while eight drivers have been cleared by FIA stewards after more than half the F1 grid were under investigation following the race.
Stewards added 20 seconds onto Raikkonen's race time - which still leaves him 16th - and handed him two penalty points, while Nicholas Latifi and Nikita Mazepin were also penalised after the late drama on Sunday.
Latifi (15th) and Mazepin (19th) were alleged to have driven too quickly under double-waved yellows following Raikkonen and Vettel's peculiar collision, with both drivers picking up 30-second post-race penalties.
Six other drivers - Carlos Sainz (5th), Sergio Perez (6th), Daniel Ricciardo (7th), Charles Leclerc (8th), Pierre Gasly (9th), Antonio Giovinazzi (14th) - were also summoned to stewards for the same alleged offence but were cleared of wrongdoing, with the final race result now confirmed.
In total, 11 drivers were called to the FIA stewards - with Vettel summoned and cleared, while George Russell also escaped punishment after an investigation into his late defence for 10th from Fernando Alonso.
Raikkonen and Vettel were squabbling over 12th place on the last lap of a penalty-laden race before coming together after Turn 4, sending both the Alfa Romeo and Aston Martin cars into the gravel, just as Max Verstappen was wrapping up his victory.
Raikkonen was adjudged to have been in the wrong.
Reacting to their crash before seeing the stewards, former Ferrari team-mates Raikkonen and Vettel both appeared mystified over the contact.
"I have to see it," said Raikkonen. "Obviously it happened very quickly. The tyres touched and then we go... but it didn't change the end result. Things go wrong sometimes."
Vettel added: "I don't know [what happened]. It must have been a misunderstanding. For sure there was no intention from my side."
The incident also led to double waved yellows at the crash site, which many drivers passed through en route to the chequered flag. After the race, the FIA stewards summoned eight drivers - five of whom finished in the top 10 - for allegedly not slowing down enough.
Latifi and Mazepin were the only ones penalised for that particular offence.
