George Russell escapes a DRS penalty after FIA talks, while Nico Hülkenberg is disqualified over a technical floor plank violation.
Mercedes and George Russell walked away from a post-race investigation unscathed, while Nico Hülkenberg wasn’t so lucky.
Following the Bahrain Grand Prix, two separate FIA investigations were underway. The first involved George Russell, who was suspected of activating his DRS (Drag Reduction System) in a zone where it wasn’t allowed.
After meeting with the stewards, Mercedes managed to convince the FIA that no sporting advantage was gained, and Russell escaped without penalty.
According to the FIA’s report, “a failure in the timing loop system — supplied by a third party — caused the automatic DRS activation link to fail.” In response, the FIA allowed manual DRS activation under Article 22.1 h) of the sporting regulations.
At the same time, Russell was dealing with a brake-by-wire issue and other electronic glitches. Mercedes instructed him to use a backup button in the cockpit, normally used for emergency radio communication, which can also manually trigger DRS.
That’s where things went wrong. As Russell attempted to use the radio, he accidentally activated the DRS — but immediately backed off to avoid gaining an advantage.
The stewards concluded: “On the straight between Turns 10 and 11, DRS was activated for just 37 meters on a 700-meter stretch. While he gained 0.02 seconds, he lost 0.28 seconds in the next corner — which telemetry confirmed. Since no sporting advantage was taken, no penalty will be applied.”
Meanwhile, Nico Hülkenberg’s day took a downturn. Post-race inspection revealed his Haas had a plank under the floor that was too thin — a clear technical infringement.
The FIA found the wooden plank under car #28 measured just 8.4mm on the left, 8.5mm in the center, and 8.4mm on the right — all below the minimum thickness of 9mm required by Article 3.5.9 e) of the Technical Regulations.
As a result, Hülkenberg was officially disqualified from the results.
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Official: Russell Avoids Penalty, Hülkenberg Disqualified After Bahrain GP
Official: Russell Avoids Penalty, Hülkenberg Disqualified After Bahrain GP
