Perez handed one-place grid penalty for Raikkonen crash
Sergio Perez has been handed a one-place grid penalty for the Tuscan Grand Prix following his clash with Kimi Raikkonen during second practice at Mugello on Friday.
Racing Point's Perez was called before the stewards after colliding with Raikkonen at Turn 1 during the afternoon session on Friday, sending the Alfa Romeo driver into the gravel.
While Perez was able to continue and Raikkonen could return to the pits, the session had to be red-flagged to clear debris left at the corner.
Perez argued that he had not been able to take a different line at the corner due to the layout of the pit exit, which the stewards took into account in deciding a penalty.
They nevertheless ruled that Perez held full responsibility for the collision, handing him a one-place grid penalty for this weekend's race.
"The Driver of Car 11 was warned by his team of the approach of Car 7 [Raikkonen] and Car 23 as he was leaving the Pit Exit, there was a blue flag waved at him prior to Turn 1 and it was apparent that he saw Car 7 in his mirrors," the stewards' report reads.
"The driver argued that the pit exit is extremely long and he had reached a high speed by the time he was passed by Car 7 and that he was unable to take a different approach to the turn.
"In deciding penalty, the Stewards considered other similar incidents in Free Practice, including Bottas (Abu Dhabi 2019 - Reprimand) and Vettel (Bahrain 2015 - no further action).
"We consider there is some merit in mitigating penalty and therefore reduce the normal penalty for an offence of this type from 3 grid positions to 1, noting that a grid penalty is appropriate as Car 11 was exiting the pits, whereas Car 7 was on a fast lap and therefore the driver of Car 11 was wholly to blame."
Perez said prior to the stewards' ruling that they were understanding of his argument about the layout of the pit exit at Mugello, which he felt was conducive to causing accidents.
"It's very narrow and long, the pit lane exit," Perez said.
"It's obviously the first time we are here. [The stewards] think that it should be changed, the pit lane exit, because it goes far too long.
"It doesn't give you an angle when you are in the pit lane exit, so that can cause a bit of an accident."
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