Mechanics’ night work Mercedes dominated the first day of the Austrian GP’s free practice session at the Red Bull Ring but still needed to get back to work overnight. After achieving Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s best time in FP1 and then taking it less than five-tenths off teammate George Russell, the young Italian talent actually conceded a repeat, proving not only that he was the fastest in the afternoon free practice session, but also that he was particularly comfortable with complex tire management even on long runs with high fuel loads. Although it was an almost perfect Friday, it ended with Toto Wolff’s team needing to return to work in violation of the so-called “curfew”. Click here to add Formula Passion as your favorite resource on Google Discover: you will find our content more easily Violation of the curfew at the Austrian GP This is the FIA rule that requires all personnel of each team to leave the circuit at a certain time in the evening and not to enter the circuit before a certain time in the morning, for a question also related to the “quality of life” of mechanics. A rule that can only be broken four times during the championship in exceptional cases where something on the car needs to be repaired: For the first time this year for Mercedes, mechanics stayed on track after 22:00 to work on the Silver Arrows. Here is the text of the official FIA press release announcing the curfew breach: “Last night, Mercedes-AMG F1 personnel responsible for the management of the single-seater were on track for an eleven-and-a-half-hour period, commencing at 22:00 on 26 June, fourteen and a half hours before the scheduled start time of free practice 3, and ending at 09:30 on 27 June, three hours before the scheduled start time. This is for the 2026 Formula One season. “It was the first of four individual exceptions granted to Mercedes-AMG F1 and therefore no action is required.” Mercedes isn’t the only F1 team working at night. It is unknown why the technicians remained on track in violation of curfew, but one of the team’s main concerns remains the battery pack, which has led to multiple withdrawals from the race throughout the season (even considering McLaren’s customers). However, the Brackley team is in excellent company as it became the fourth team to break the regime banning staff from spending the night at the track: between Friday and Saturday Audi also worked on Hulkenberg and Bortoleto’s cars (and this was their second breach of the season), while between Thursday and Friday Williams and Cadillac were given exceptions for night work. As in the case of Mercedes, none of these F1 teams exceeded the number of permissible infringements and therefore no penalties were received from the Federation.
Automobile Magazine – Formula1 English, News
2026-06-27 20:10:00
Automobile Magazine, 2026-06-28 02:47:00, automobilemagazine.com.tr
Automobile Magazine – English News
Source link 2026-06-28 14:24:00
