George Russell was spared by the stewards at the Bahrain GP. The Mercedes driver, who finished second behind Oscar Piastri in the W16, was at risk of a 5-second penalty for having improperly activated the DRS, since there was no car ahead of him that would have justified its use.
The panel, which included Italy’s Vitantonio Liuzzi, decided not to penalize George Russell (who had already received a grid penalty due to a Mercedes error) after analyzing GPS data, telemetry, and radio communications.
George experienced several electronic issues: the connection between the automatic DRS activation system and the W16 was lost due to a malfunction in the timing system provided by an external supplier.
FIA stewards had authorized manual activation of the DRS in accordance with Article 22.1 h), while George Russell was also facing problems with the brake-by-wire system and other electronic components. The team instructed George to use an auxiliary button in the cockpit that is used for both the radio and manual DRS activation.
On the straight between turns 10 and 11, the Briton intended to speak with the team via radio using this button but accidentally activated the DRS. The flap remained open for 37 meters along a straight of about 700 meters.
Although he gained 0.002 seconds, George Russell then lost 0.028 seconds in the following corner, effectively offsetting any advantage. This sequence was confirmed by telemetry data.
For this reason, although a technical violation was confirmed, the Stewards decided that since no sporting advantage was gained, no penalty would be imposed.
In the end, for once, logic prevailed…
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