Red Bull challenges Russell’s Canadian GP win as seven drivers, including podium finisher Antonelli, face stewards over Safety Car breaches.
The evening could be a long one in Canada, and overnight in France, as Red Bull has lodged a protest against George Russell’s victory.
Max Verstappen, who finished second, accused the Mercedes F1 driver of driving too erratically under the Safety Car.
In total, seven drivers, including Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who stepped onto the podium for the first time, will have to appear before the stewards.
The Mercedes driver and six others have been summoned for potential infractions related to Safety Car protocol at the end of the race. Among them, championship leader and fourth-place finisher Oscar Piastri has also been summoned for his collision with teammate Lando Norris.
Three additional drivers have also been summoned for the same infraction, including fifth-place Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Carlos Sainz (Williams), who finished tenth and took the final point. Esteban Ocon has also been summoned for potentially erratic driving during the race.
The two other drivers summoned for possible Safety Car protocol breaches are Pierre Gasly, who finished 15th, and Lance Stroll, who came in 17th.
The seven drivers allegedly overtook other cars after the race had ended. While this is typically permitted, the race concluded under the Safety Car, even though the car entered the pits.
Gasly and Ocon received official warnings at last year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix for committing the same infraction after the race ended under a virtual Safety Car. Max Verstappen and Nico Hülkenberg also received official warnings during that same event.
Verstappen noticed several drivers overtaking him while he was returning to the pits after today’s race and reported it over the radio: “Look, they’re overtaking us, they’re not allowed to overtake with the Safety Car still deployed.”
George Russell’s race engineer, Marcus Dudley, also noticed the overtaking after the checkered flag: “There should be no overtaking. It’s still under the Safety Car—I don’t know what they’re doing.”
“To be honest, I was driving pretty slowly, so I don’t think they did anything wrong,” said Russell, the race winner. “I was just waving to the crowd.”
