Red Bull Stripped of Win at Italian Grand Prix after Major Error Spotted
Red Bull have been stripped of a win at the Italian Grand Prix after a major error was spotted.
It was a strong weekend for Red Bull's Formula 1 team at Monza, as Max Verstappen dominated the race to secure his third Grand Prix victory of the season. Although the Dutchman crossed the line nearly 20 seconds clear of Lando Norris, the race started in dramatic fashion.
At the opening corner, Verstappen went wheel-to-wheel with Norris and then cut across the chicane. Red Bull quickly came over the radio ordering their four-time world champion to hand the place back, which he did at the end of the opening lap.
It did not take him long to regain his advantage, passing Norris at the start of the fourth lap, before he powered away to take a convincing win. While Red Bull demonstrated their enduring speed in Formula 1, the team's junior programme endured a far more frustrating weekend at Monza in the Formula 3 Sprint Race.
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Tim Tramnitz crossed the line in first place to seemingly claim the victory, but he received a 10-second time penalty for breaching mandatory start procedure regulations.
That demoted him to eighteenth position and saw Rodin Motorsport's Roman Bilinsku promoted to claim a maiden Formula 3 victory.
After the race, Tramnitz expressed his frustration on social media.
The 20-year-old German driver wrote: "We did a great job on track securing the win in the sprint today! Due to a technical issue which wasn’t the teams fault, I wasn’t able to engage the start-procedure in the formation lap, which resulted in a 10sec time penalty.
"This one is painful! We‘ve had great pace today, so let’s fight back tomorrow."
The feature race did not bring redemption for Tramnitz, who was forced to pit at the end of the opening lap to change a damaged front wing.
Despite the setback, he mounted an impressive recovery drive to fight back through the field and claim 10th, securing one world championship point.
Monza brought an end to the Formula 3 season, with Tramnitz ending the campaign fourth in the Drivers' Standings on 94 points.
Despite the sprint race disappointment, he showed enough speed throughout the year to confirm him as one of the most promising young drivers.
It was a more positive weekend for another Red Bull junior driver, as Nikola Tsolov produced an excellent drive in the feature race to finish second.
His sixth podium of the season ensured he finished second overall in the final Drivers' Standings.
Topics: Formula 1, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Motorsport
James Taylor