Six Formula 2 drivers have incurred 10-place grid drops for both races in this weekend’s season-opening round in Melbourne.
DAMS pair Jak Crawford and Kush Maini, Trident duo Max Esterson and Sami Meguetounif, plus Rodin’s Amaury Cordeel and Alex Dunne have all incurred the same penalty.
The stewards issued further penalties to the three teams involved after discovering forbidden modifications to at least one of each team’s cars during testing. The teams made the modifications in order to fit sensors to their cars to gather data.
The modifications were found on four cars, driven by Esterson, Crawford, Dunne and Christian Mansell – Cordeel’s predecessor in the second Rodin seat – during testing at the Circuit de Catalunya last month. Maini and Meguetounif were penalised as the stewards ruled the information gained from their team mates’ cars would confer an advantage on the whole team.
The stewards fined the teams €10,000 for each infraction – Rodin therefore amassed a total fine of €20,000 (£16,700). The stewards also took the unusual step of recommending that Formula 2’s technical delegate imposes further sanctions on the four cars which were modified to cancel out any advantage which might have been gained.
The stewards explained the reasoning for their unusually severe penalties.
“The Formula 2 championship is based on a single chassis and single engine. Aerodynamic data is provided to all teams from the chassis manufacturer. The technical regulations specifically limit how the external airflow may be measured. In addition, the modification of a standard part is only allowed per the regulations, the user manuals, or a technical bulletin. The modification of a part so as to fit a sensor (which includes the tube to transmit the air pressure and the sensor itself) is forbidden.
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“The collection of this data from pressure sensors in the external airflow could be used to correlate with the data from the chassis manufacturer with the intention to gather more information on the aerodynamic performance of the car in on-track circumstances with different set-ups.
“Previously teams have requested such permission from the technical delegate and it has been denied.”
In each case the team “installed sensors by modifying a standard part,” noted the stewards. “It is impossible for the stewards to know for how long and how much data was collected,” they added.
In addition to the grid penalties and fines, the stewards have advised the technical delegate to restrict the running at the upcoming test in Bahrain of the four cars which were modified – those of Crawford, Esterson and the DAMS duo.
“The stewards strongly recommend limiting the track testing at the next promoter test (in Bahrain before round two of the championship) to two days only. The stewards strongly recommend the promoter to decide which day the team will be excluded. As per SR 10.2 those teams excluded from one day of the test will be limited to six sets of dry weather tyres only as the test is effectively a two-day test for them.
“The stewards strongly recommend the technical delegate to issue a technical bulletin for the Bahrain test allowing the teams the opportunity to apply for permission to use similar sensors for the duration of the test. The stewards recommend that the technical delegate should not accept the application from [Rodin/DAMS/Trident].”
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