The FIA stewards have issued a five-place grid penalty to a driver who is not scheduled to start an upcoming Formula 1 race.
Robert Shwartzman received the penalty for overtaking Yuki Tsunoda under double waved yellow flags during the first practice session. Shwartzman, who races with AF Corse in the World Endurance Championship, was driving for Sauber in the session to meet an FIA requirement that each F1 car is driven by an experienced driver in at least one practice session each season.
The incident occurred after a collision between Oliver Bearman and Alexander Albon at turn nine in first practice. Shwartzman witnessed the crash and, while returning to the pits, failed to respect the yellow flag zone and overtook Tsunoda’s RB while traveling at speed.
The stewards reached their decision after speaking with the 25-year-old and reviewing video, team radio and telemetry from the incident. In their summary they noted that Shwartzman passed a single waved yellow, then a double waved yellow, before overtaking in the yellow zone.
“The penalty is the usual penalty for passing under a double yellow,” the stewards said. “While the driver is not scheduled to start the race, the stewards have applied the consistent penalty.”
Shwartzman has made six appearances in official FIA practice sessions: four outings for Ferrari in 2022–23 and one previous session for Sauber earlier this year. He is a former member of the Ferrari Driver Academy and won the FIA Formula 3 championship in 2019.
Because Shwartzman does not hold an F1 race seat next season, there is no guarantee he will ever serve the grid drop. The stewards did not impose any additional punishment or add penalty points to his licence.
The stewards’ decision follows precedent for penalties that go unserved. In 2017 Jenson Button received a three-place grid penalty for causing a collision with Pascal Wehrlein at the Monaco Grand Prix while making a one-off substitute appearance; that penalty was never served because it applied to what turned out to be his last F1 start.
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