Maini penalised for causing F2 Azerbaijan startline crash

Kush Maini has been penalised due to his role in the heavy crash that occurred at the start of the Formula 2 feature race in Azerbaijan.

The Baku contest was red-flagged after a matter of seconds due to the incident involving Invicta driver Maini, MP Motorsport’s Oliver Goethe and Campos driver Pepe Marti.

Lining up in fifth, Maini stalled and remained in situ in his grid slot as the field scattered in avoidance. But after Goethe clipped the stationary Invicta, Marti – who had started 21st of the 22 runners – clattered into Maini’s left rear, flipping his own car upside down before it was righted through further contact with the pitwall.

Both Maini and an Invicta team representative were summoned to face the stewards, although the driver failed to attend.

During the hearing, the stewards determined that Maini had failed to engage the start-up procedure for the race, which resulted in his initial stall and the following incident.

As a result, Maini was handed a 10-second time penalty, which has been converted into a five-place grid drop for the next race he starts. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this will be the sprint race in Qatar.

Two points were also added to his record.

Although of little consequence given his immediate retirement, Maini was also disqualified from the feature race, as “a defined set-up procedure activation must be used during all formation lap starts and race starts”, as per the stewards’ report.

“I’m glad no one was hurt, and that Oliver and Pepe are OK,” said Maini. “That’s the main thing after a crash like that.

“It’s a real shame to end the weekend like that because we had strong pace through practice, qualifying and the sprint.”

Team principal Andy Roche added: “I know I speak for everyone in the team when I say we’re all just relieved to see Kush walk away from that huge incident.

“No one likes to see crashes like that, but it’s a testament to the FIA and the Formula 2 cars that everyone got out unharmed.”