SPIELBERG, Austria — The top three finishers at the Austrian Grand Prix — Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton — have all been issued €10,000 suspended fines for a breach of parc ferme regulations immediately after the race finished.
The investigation centered on their physios interacting with them and handing them items before they were weighed by the FIA.
The weight check is a mandatory FIA requirement to ensure the weight of car and driver has not breached the regulations.
ESPN understands drivers had previously been warned about interaction with physios after several transgressions were noted at previous races. The stewards warned that further violations of the rule could result in the paddock passes of the physios being revoked.
The ruling was the same for all three drivers.
“The stewards received a report from the media delegate, which was subsequently confirmed by video evidence, that the physio/drivers’ assistants of the top three finishers entered parc ferme without permission and in violation of the procedure that was published prior to the race ‘for the orderly conduct of the event’,” the stewards’ statement said. “In part this is to prevent handing over of items to the drivers prior to them being weighed.
“The competitor is fined €10,000, which will be suspended for the remainder of the season pending any further violation of the procedure, and the competitors are warned that the passes of the individuals concerned may be revoked in case of systemic violation.”