The FIA ​​creates a new penalty: the stop and go ‘suspended’ arrives for Hulkenberg

A special case The Canadian GP which took place on Sunday provided entertainment and entertainment on the track, but also a lot of work for the stewards to do behind the scenes. One case more than others aroused curiosity because it led the commissioners to ‘invent’ a new penalty that had not yet been seen: the ‘suspended’ stop and go. The protagonists of this particular story were Nico Hulkenberg and – as his accomplice – Liam Lawson. The facts, first of all: during the third reconnaissance lap, after the two aborted starts, Lawson, who started from the 12th spot on the grid, inadvertently overtook Hulkenberg, who was instead in the 11th spot. The two were then no longer able to get back into the correct positions and passed Safety Car Line 1 in the reverse order compared to what they should have done by regulation. The FIA’s explanation “It was an unusual accident – explained the stewards themselves in the official document released by the FIA – car no. 27 was slower than could reasonably be expected, starting from its position on the grid for what would have been the third formation lap. Car no. 30 started earlier than expected and would have had to wait longer for car #27 to get underway. During the formation lap, the driver of car #27 stated that he was unable to safely overtake car #30 to get back into the correct position. However, despite the cars being in the wrong order when crossing the SC1 line, there was no need to delay the start, there was no need to change the starting grid and there was no impact on the competition.” Lawson got away with a reprimand, while things got more complicated when assessing Hulkenberg’s position in accordance with the regulations. “The regulations – wrote the stewards in the justification document – provide for a mandatory ‘Stop and Go’ penalty for cars that do not enter the pit lane if they have not regained the correct position within the first stage of SC1. However, in light of the mitigating circumstances mentioned above, the Stewards believe that this penalty is extremely severe and not proportionate to a violation of relatively modest magnitude and impact. Consequently, the Stop and Go penalty is suspended by virtue of the authority granted to the Stewards under the article 12.4.6 of the ISC”. Therefore Hulkenberg will race the rest of the season with a suspended ‘stop and go’ which will have to be served if the German from Audi encounters another similar infringement by the end of the championship: “The penalty is suspended until the final race of the 2026 Championship – the commissioners reported – provided that no further similar infringements occur by this driver”. Jurisprudence is done.

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News , 2026-05-25 20:30:00