During the Q3 qualifying session for the Canadian Grand Prix, Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg breached FIA regulations when he went faster than the minimum delta time set by the FIA ECU on his return to the pits after the session was red flagged. The red flag was raised after Oscar Piastri crashed his McLaren in wet conditions at Turn 7 in Montreal. Hulkenberg had set a lap time good enough for second place on the grid moments before the red flag emerged. However, the worsening rainfall ensured that no one was able to improve on their lap times when the session restarted.
The penalty for Hulkenberg’s breach of regulations moves him back to fifth on the grid. Fernando Alonso will now join Max Verstappen on the front row, while Lewis Hamilton moves up to third and George Russell will start from fourth with Hulkenberg shuffled behind both Mercedes drivers.
In the official documentation supplied by the stewards, the FIA noted that Hulkenberg was already 1.5 seconds over his delta time when the red flag was displayed. The driver claimed that this made it extremely difficult for him to come below the delta in the next sector. He also admitted to confusion about the beep signal in his headset and at one stage thought he was going too slow.
The stewards found that although Hulkenberg was approximately the same speed as Car 31, which complied with the delta times in each mini-sector, there was a breach of regulations. The regulation is clear, and a penalty had to be imposed despite the mitigating circumstances. The normal penalty for failure to slow under red flags is 10 grid positions. However, in view of the mitigating circumstance, a lower penalty was deemed appropriate.
The stewards noted that the intention of the regulation is to ensure a car is not speeding during a red flag situation, and there is no evidence that the speed was excessive in this case. They also noted that the driver should make himself more familiar with the operational aspects of the delta signals.
There was prior precedent for the penalty, as Daniel Ricciardo received a penalty of the same magnitude in qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix back in 2018, having failed to slow sufficiently during a red flag for debris on the circuit.
In addition to Hulkenberg’s penalty, Lance Stroll received a three-place grid drop for impeding Esteban Ocon in Q2, while Yuki Tsunoda was cleared of impeding Charles Leclerc but collected a three-place penalty for blocking Hulkenberg during Q1. Hulkenberg progressed into Q2 at the expense of Tsunoda, as the Japanese driver could not improve on his final lap. Carlos Sainz also picked up a three-place grid drop for impeding Pierre Gasly.
The radio traffic between Hulkenberg and his race engineer Gary Gannon unveiled confusion between the two over the delta time. Hulkenberg asked whether he should be negative or positive, to which Gannon replied that he should be positive. Hulkenberg then expressed confusion over whether he was going too slow or too fast, and Gannon instructed him to slow down and watch out for Piastri, who had crashed on the exit of T7.
Hulkenberg’s breach of FIA regulations during qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix has resulted in a penalty, moving him back to fifth on the grid. The stewards noted that although there were mitigating circumstances, a penalty had to be imposed as the regulation is clear. The incident highlights the importance of drivers being familiar with the operational aspects of delta signals and following FIA regulations to ensure a safe and fair racing environment.
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