FIA punishment revealed for ‘dangerous’ Ricciardo incident

Punishment has been confirmed by the FIA for an incident during FP3 at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix involving Visa Cash App RB driver Daniel Ricciardo.

Ricciardo has struggled in 2024 to find form, being largely outperformed by team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, and failing to score a point during any main races this season.

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At the Miami GP, the Australian managed to finish fourth in the sprint race, before struggling in the main race, and falling to a disappointing 15th.

Despite the strong sprint race performance, the question marks around Ricciardo's future in the sport beyond the end of the season are still very much present, with young driver Liam Lawson waiting in the wings at the Faenza-based outfit.

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RB fined for 'dangerous' Ricciardo incident

Now, following an incident during the final practice session at the Emilia-Romagna GP, Ricciardo has been adjudged to have broken the rules.

During a chaotic scramble at the end of Saturday's practice session due to a late crash for Red Bull's Sergio Perez, Australian driver Ricciardo's dawdling on the racing line almost caused a huge crash with Haas' Kevin Magnussen.

Magnussen came up behind Ricciardo while flying along, to find that the 34-year-old was driving slowly, side-by-side with RB team-mate Tsunoda.

Only a late dive to the left-hand side by Ricciardo allowed Magnussen to get through, but the close call has been described as 'dangerous' by the FIA.

Ricciardo's team has been handed a €5000 fine, but the Australian escaped any penalty due to the incident occurring after the chequered flag had already been shown, and the fact that Magnussen was not on a timed lap.

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In a statement, race stewards said: "The stewards usually do not investigate “impeding” during free practice sessions unless they are considered dangerous or potentially dangerous.

"The incident between Magnussen and Ricciardo was considered by the stewards as being potentially dangerous, in particular as Magnussen ended up driving into the grass at 225km/h.

"This case is unusual in that it occurred after the chequered flag on the session. This means it is not classically “impeding” as it did not prevent Magnussen from setting a fast time. It is also therefore understandable that Ricciardo was driving slowly, preparing for his practice start. It is also fully within the regulations for Magnussen to be driving at speed, even after the checkered flag.

"The stewards considered the location of the incident, which was after the crest of the hill leading up to Turn 14. There was no chance that Ricciardo was likely to see Magnussen in time, and vice versa. Ricciardo was avoiding his team-mate, Tsunoda, who was also manoeuvring to prepare for his practice start. This meant that Ricciardo was near the racing line at the time.

"It was also understood by the stewards that the situation was even more unusual due to the previous red flag, and the resumption of the session giving some of the teams the ability to complete the lap, and others not, but choosing to get the most information possible.

"The stewards have issued penalties for incidents during free practice sessions previously, although those incidents were all prior to the chequered flag. Given the circumstances, it was important for the team to give sufficient warning of a fast car approaching, which they failed to do until Magnussen was at the scene. This failure caused a potentially dangerous situation.

"The stewards consider that there are a number of mitigating circumstances, and that this situation is highly unusual, but that nevertheless, the teams have a duty of care, even after the chequered flag.

"Therefore, the stewards issue a fine to the team, but in view of the mitigating circumstances, a significantly reduced one from previous cases and no penalty to the driver."

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