(Motorsport-Total.com) – Liam Lawson did not receive a penalty at the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday, although the collision with Pierre Gasly initially looked like it was clearly his fault. However, the collision was preceded by a gearbox failure on the Racing Bull shortly before the incident, as was only revealed later.
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On lap 5, Gasly attempted to overtake Lawson in the hairpin (Turn 17), but was hit by the Racing Bull driver. The Alpine flipped over and landed in the track barrier. Both drivers were unharmed but had to retire from the race as a result of the incident.
Gasly was initially upset immediately after the race: “This shouldn’t happen. I’m almost more disappointed that after a weekend where we clearly deserved points, we didn’t get any. The car didn’t feel comfortable,” he said about the spectacular but ultimately harmless rollover. And: “It could have been prevented. It’s a bit annoying.”
How the stewards justify their decision
The FIA race stewards initially decided to investigate the incident after the race. During the investigation, it was confirmed that Lawson suffered a gearbox failure while braking for Turn 17, which made it impossible for him to avoid a collision with Gasly. Therefore, the stewards considered a “mechanical failure” as the cause, which is not grounds for a penalty.
The official stewards’ document states: “The driver of car 30 stated that he had a technical problem immediately before the collision, as his gearbox failed under braking. The stewards reviewed the onboard data and telemetry and confirmed that there was clearly a gearbox failure immediately before the incident in question. The radio communication was also consistent with the fact that a gearbox failure occurred.”
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“We therefore accept the driver’s explanation that it was a mechanical component failure on the vehicle and that he could do nothing to avoid the collision. We also examined whether the driver of car 30 could have anticipated the gearbox failure and concluded that this would not have been possible.”
“Under these circumstances, the stewards find that a mechanical failure and not driver error was the cause of the collision, and that the driver of car 30 is therefore not at fault for the collision. We have therefore taken no further action.”
Lawson’s statement after the collision
Lawson explains that it was not a problem he had previously experienced with his Racing Bull car and that the accident with Gasly was unavoidable: “Of course, it’s bitter for both of us,” he says. “I went into the last corner and lost the gearbox while braking. I ended up in neutral, so I basically had no gear left and couldn’t stop.”
“Something like this has never happened to me before. Of course, it’s quite a big problem for us and the reason why we had to retire the car. It’s just a shame because it also took Pierre out of the race.”
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