- Austrian GP - FP1
Toro Rosso given €10,000 suspended fine for tyre mix up
Toro Rosso has been given a suspended fine of €10,000 after Jean-Eric Vergne used a set of tyres allocated for the first 30 minutes of FP1 outside their allotted time.
This year Pirelli supplies an extra set of the harder compound tyre to teams in the first 30 minutes of the first practice session to encourage running on track. Vergne was on track on his set of tyres outside the allotted 30 minutes, but because Toro Rosso "admitted the infringement and sought to mitigate" it was given a suspended fine on the understanding they are not caught out again.
"The penalty is suspended for the rest of the season unless the competitor commits a similar infringement in which case this penalty shall become payable immediately without prejudice to any other penalty imposed for the infringement," a stewards' decision read.
"The competitor admitted the infringement and sought to mitigate. Having considered the facts the stewards accept that the infringement was inadvertent and no advantage was gained as a result. In the circumstances, the stewards decided that a suspended penalty was appropriate for the infringement."
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