Williams handed double penalty after double FIA investigation

Williams has been handed two post-race penalties following a double investigation by FIA stewards in the wake of the Barcelona GP.

Both Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz were flagged for start infringements ahead of the 66-lap race at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with officials reviewing the incidents after Lewis Hamilton claimed victory.

Williams face double FIA investigation after Barcelona grid breach

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According to the stewards’ document, both Williams cars were alleged to have breached Article B5.5.5 of the F1 regulations.

That Article mandates that all team personnel must leave the grid, along with any equipment, ahead of the 15 second signal.

In the subsequent hearing with the FIA stewards, it was found that items had been left on or near the track, resulting in €10,000 euro in fines.

For Albon, that was a tyre blanket that hadn’t been entirely cleared away from his car as it was lowered from the jacks.

“Although the team tried to remove the parts before the start of the formation lap, these attempts were unsuccessful and car left with a cable still hanging off the car and the team thereby did not take all of their equipment with them after the 15 second signal,” the stewards’ document revealed.

And for Sainz, officials noted: “The team left a black plastic box on the grass area next to the grid and thereby did not take all of their equipment with them after the 15 second signal.”

Both breaches came with €5,000 fines, for a total of €10,000.

It proved a difficult race for Williams, following on from a troubled progression through the weekend.

Midway through proceedings, Albon was forced into the pits when his Formula One Management-provided camera worked loose.

That forced him into the pits as a safety consideration where the housing was fixed and he was sent back into the race.

However, having lost several laps in the process, the team treated the remainder of the race as a test session.

Sainz fared slightly better, seeing the chequered flag two laps down in 12th of the 14 cars classified at the finish line.

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