Pain for Haas: Hulkenberg given grid penalty in Abu Dhabi

Hulkenberg receives a grid penalty:

Hulkenberg had qualified in a respectable fourth place but was soon told to report to the stewards due to an incident in the pit lane. The German had stopped in the pit exit tunnel, an action that went against the instructions of race director Rui Marques. Hulkenberg didn't deny that he had gone against the race director's instructions but said that he had no other option in his attempt to set a lap. When leaving the pit lane, it was very busy, and it was not clear whether everyone would make it to start a fast lap in time. This particularly disadvantages teams that are at the end of the pit lane, like Haas.

The stewards acknowledged that the positions of Formula 1 teams could make it difficult for drivers to leave the pits on time but did not consider this an excuse to break the rules. They emphasised that overtaking is prohibited in certain parts of the pit lane to prevent any dangerous situations and, therefore thought a grid penalty of three places was appropriate. This means that Max Verstappen, Pierre Gasly and George Russell move up one place on the grid.

This article was written in collaboration with Toby Nixon