FIA CONFIMS SPANISH GRAND PRIX PUNISHMENT AFTER INVESTIGATION

 

The Madring, home of the Spanish Grand Prix

Williams driver Alex Albon has been handed a warning by the FIA stewards’ following an incident with Arvid Lindblad in FP1 at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Albon and Lindblad were summoned to the stewards following opening practice in Madrid after the Williams driver left the track and rejoined unsafely at Turn 6.

FIA issues warning to Alex Albon after Spanish GP FP1 incident

Albon was informed over team radio that Lindblad was closing on him, with the Williams driver crossing the track in his attempts to avoid blocking his rival.

Following a hearing with Albon and Lindblad, and representatives of the Williams and Racing Bulls teams, the stewards have confirmed that Albon has been handed a warning.

The stewards’ verdict read: “The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 23 (Alexander Albon), the driver of Car 41 (Arvid Lindblad), team representatives and reviewed video and in-car video evidence.

“The driver of Car 23 stated in the hearing that he was informed about Car 41 closing in and therefore continuously checked his mirrors.

“But doing so he missed out on taking an appropriate line to stay to the right of the yellow line in the runoff area.

“When approaching the track edge, he made the decision to accelerate and cross the track as quickly as possible to not interfere with Car 41.

“The Stewards determine that, although he took reasonable action not to impede Car 41, the driver of Car 23 could have been more

cautious and alert on his way through the runoff area and when re-joining the track.”

As reported by PlanetF1.com, Lindblad was frustrated by a blocking incident with Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli in FP1 after encountering the pair moving slowly on the exit of La Monumental, the banked right-hander.

Lindblad was heard saying over team radio: “These same two guys, man! I don’t know what they’re doing. They’re just stupid, right in the fast corner!

He added: “It’s actually very dangerous. It’s been twice now.”

Lindblad and Albon were classified seventh and 20th respectively in FP1 as the Madring hosted a competitive session for the first time.

Lindblad improved to fourth in FP2, but the Racing Bulls driver caused the first red flag of the weekend with an accident at Turn 13, the left-hander immediately after La Monumental.

Albon was classified 18th in the second practice session as Mercedes driver and F1 2026 championship leader Kimi Antonelli topped the times.

FP3 will be held at 12:30 local time on Saturday in Madrid before qualifying takes place at 16:00.

The Spanish Grand Prix is scheduled to begin at 15:00 on Sunday.

- Oliver Harden

F1 STEWARDS EXPLAIN COSTLY LEWIS HAMILTON MONACO PENALTY

Lewis Hamilton had a rough day at Monaco on Saturday as he suffered a crash in practice before being issued a grid penalty after qualifying.

© XPBimages

The FIA stewards have explained why they opted to hand Lewis Hamilton a three-place grid penalty for the Monaco Grand Prix

Hamilton ended qualifying in fourth place, which was set to be his highest starting grid position of the season.

However, he was forced to visit the stewards after impeding Max Verstappen during Q1 while the Red Bull driver was on a fast lap.

Both drivers advanced into the next stage of qualifying and eventually qualified in fourth and fifth respectively.

Hamilton was bumped back to seventh following a deliberation from the stewards, who accepted the seven-time champion wasn't solely to blame as Ferrari informed their driver that Verstappen was not pushing.

“Car 44 was on a slow lap and off the racing line as he was approaching Turn 2,” read a statement from the stewards. 

“Car 1 was approaching Car 44 on a push lap. The team first informed the driver of Car 44 that Car 1 was on a fast lap. Then they sent another message saying that Car 1 was 'slowing down' when in fact Car 1 was always on a push lap and was not 'slowing down' as suggested by the team. 

“This resulted in Car 44 speeding up and moving into the racing line of Car 1 entering Turn 3. 

“Car 1 had to react to Car 44 appearing to move into the racing line. This meant that Car 1 had to move off the usual racing line and the push lap had to be aborted by Car 1. We carefully examined the racing line taken by Car 1 in previous laps at the same area and determined that Car 44 did in fact enter the racing line that Car 1 used in previous push laps. This put it beyond doubt that Car 1 was impeded.”

Despite accepting Hamilton was not at fault as he received incorrect information, the stewards could not ignore circumstance created by Ferrari.

“The driver of Car 44 expressed his displeasure at the incorrect message from the team immediately after the incident.

“During the hearing, the fact of the team’s incorrect message leading to the incident was accepted by the driver of Car 44. 

“As with previous incidents of this nature where a driver has received inaccurate or incomplete information resulting in a car impeding another, the fact that the radio message was the cause of the impeding does not amount to a mitigating factor.”

- Fergal Walsh