FIA explains Nikola Tsolov decision as teammate disqualified at Spa

Noel Leon, the Formula 2 teammate of Red Bull’s Nikola Tsolov, was disqualified from the Belgium feature race results under unusual circumstances. 

Their Campos Racing team was also fined €20,000 after a guest wore a headset in breach of the regulations. The FIA did not take action against Tsolov as the guest in question was solely associated with Leon. Campos also received a suspended withdrawal of 25 championship points, subject to no further comparable transgressions occurring in the next 12 months.

FIA disqualifies Noel Leon, spares Nikola Tsolov

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Leon believed he was leaving Spa-Francorchamps with a P7 in the feature race. He was hit with a post-race disqualification following an FIA investigation.

The unusual regulatory breach revolved around a team guest wearing the wrong set of headphones, in the pit lane, during a red flag period.

Meanwhile Tsolov, the Red Bull-backed driver being linked with a Racing Bulls F1 2027 seat, can breathe a sigh of relief. The FIA deemed it inappropriate for him to face sanction.

Tsolov leads the F2 Championship. With his P3 in Belgium still standing, following fourth place in the sprint, Tsolov’s buffer at the top comes in at 27 points ahead of Hungary.

Explaining their decisions, the FIA stewards wrote: “The stewards examined the available evidence, summoned the drivers and team manager. As the driver Noel Leon had already left the
track, they only heard from Nikola Tsolov and the team manager.

“A person declared as Non-Operational Personnel was observed wearing a radio headset fitted with a microphone, and therefore had the appearance of potentially being able to transit, and therefore not a “listen only headset”.

“This is alleged to be a breach of Appendix 5 and Article 21.5 of the F2 Sporting Regulations. Under the applicable regulations, Non-Operational Personnel may only be in possession of a
listen-only radio headset.

“During the hearing, the team manager explained that the person concerned, who was a team guest, had inadvertently taken the wrong type of headset.

“The stewards noted that the team guest had been approached by a scrutineer and informed that the headset was not permitted as it was fitted with a microphone. The scrutineer was advised in response that the microphone was folded upwards.

“Despite having been specifically advised that the headset was not permitted, the team guest subsequently put the headset back on and continued to use it.

“Nevertheless, the team remains responsible for ensuring that radio equipment provided to Non-Operational Personnel and team guests complies with the applicable requirements.

“The regulations in this respect are clear: Non-Operational Personnel may only be in possession of a listen-only radio headset. The team is expected to exercise greater care in controlling the allocation and use of such equipment.

“In determining the scope of the penalty, the stewards also established that the team guest concerned was associated exclusively with Car 5 [Leon] and had no involvement with the team’s other car.

“The stewards therefore considered that it would not be appropriate to apply the sporting consequence of this infringement to the other car [Tsolov] and determined that the disqualification should apply only to Car 5.

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“Furthermore, the team guest was observed using the non-compliant headset only during this session. There was no evidence before the stewards that the guest had used the headset during any other session of the competition.

“The stewards therefore determined that the disqualification should be limited to Car 5 from the results of this session only.

“The stewards emphasise that it remains the responsibility of the team to ensure compliance with these requirements and to put appropriate measures in place to prevent any recurrence.

“Taking into account the circumstances above, the stewards apply the above mentioned penalties.”

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