Daniel Ricciardo’s terrible afternoon in Malaysia has just got even worse after the stewards confirmed that he has been given a 10 place grid penalty for next weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix after an unsafe release from the pits.
Ricciardo had been enjoying a successful Malaysian Grand Prix after qualifying in fifth place and making a good start to lie fourth after the first round of pit stops. However, when making his third and final stop, there was a problem with fitting the front left tire on the RB10 car.
Ricciardo instantly stopped his car and was wheeled back to the pit box where it was correctly attached to the car, costing the Australian driver a lap. He then suffered a front wing failure before retiring with just five laps to go.
However, the stewards have taken a zero tolerance approach to unsafe releases ever since a cameraman was hit by a loose wheel at the 2013 German Grand Prix. As a result, Ricciardo has been given a 10 place grid penalty for the race in Bahrain.
Red Bull has also been called to the stewards office after one of its mechanics did not wear a helmet during the pit stop, which was in breach of standard safety procedure.
Smaller penalties have been handed to Kevin Magnussen and Jules Bianchi after incidents during the race today. Magnussen made contact with Kimi Raikkonen on the first lap at Sepang, giving the Ferrari driver a puncture and earning himself a five second stop/go penalty at a pit stop. However, the stewards have opted to also award him two penalty points that go on his FIA superlicense.
Bianchi also got two points on his superlicense for spinning Pastor Maldonado on the first lap at turn four.
The awarding of penalty points is a new rule for the 2014 season, with drivers receiving a one race ban if they have 12 or more points on their superlicense at any time.
