Bahrain Grand Prix – Ferrari have been handed a fine following their unsafe pit stop, which resulted in an injury for one of their mechanics.
Kimi Raikkonen retired from the race moments after he was released from his pit box on the wrong tyres on lap 35.
There was difficulty in removing the left-rear tyre from Raikkonen’s Ferrari, with the team looking to switch from super soft tyres to soft tyres.
The lights on Ferrari pit gantry changed to green too early, causing Raikkonen to accelerate from his pit box prematurely and knocking over a mechanic in the process.
The mechanic suffered a broken leg and Raikkonen was instructed to stop the car, which was now equipped with three soft tyres and one super soft tyre.
Following the incident, the team were handed a fine of €50,000.
Speaking after the race, Raikkonen admitted that he didn’t realise that there had been a problem with the left-rear wheel.
“What happened to our guy Francesco today at the pit-stop is very unfortunate. I feel sorry for him and hope he’s going to be OK soon,” said Raikkonen.
“It’s always a bad thing when someone gets injured but I am sure he has the best people taking good care of him and I wish him a speedy recovery.
“As for the accident itself, all I know is that I moved when I saw the green light go on. I couldn’t have possibly realised that there was an issue with the rear left wheel, then I saw someone had got hurt and, immediately, I was told to stop by the team.
“Unfortunately something must have gone wrong and we’ll need to find out what. The car had good speed today but I had some wheelspin at the start. Anyway, there’s not much I can do now but wait for the next race, where we’ll try to do our best.
