George Russell avoided a penalty for opening his DRS when not within range of another car during the Bahrain Grand Prix, cementing his sec ond-place finish.
The stewards investigated after Russell opened his DRS on the back straight while trying to respond to a number of technical issues in his Mercedes, including a problem with a timing loop that saw his car not registering its position on track through the mini sectors. Russell st ated he gained no time when the DRS opened accidentally as he was trying to manually check different systems, and while the stewards found that the use of the DRS was an infringement, they applied no penalty as they agreed he handed back any sporting advantage.
“The connection between the automated DRS activation system and the car failed due to issues with a timing loop provided by an external p arty,” the stewards’ decision read. “Therefore the FIA authorized 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 dist ance of 37 meters on a straight of approximately 700 meters. Whilst he gained 0.02s, he gave up 0.28s 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.”
By avoiding a penalty, Russell is confirmed in second place in the race results ahead of Lando Norris, having held the McLaren driver off in the closing laps. The finishing order leaves Russell six points behind third-placed Max Verstappen in the drivers’ championship, and 14 points adrift of leader Norris.
