Scuderia Ferrari has received a hefty fine of 50,000 Euros for the incorrect pitstop during the 2018 Formula 1 Bahrain GP. The incident during Kimi Raikkonen's pitstop ended with one of the mechanics being hurt and suffered a fractured leg after being hit by the car. While the incident abruptly ended the race for Raikkonen, the mechanic was attended by the paramedics and taken to the hospital and is currently recovering. The incident only added to the craziness of the Bahrain GP, which quite literally was all over the place.
undefinedDramatic pitstop, one of our mechanics was hit by #Kimi7’s car #BahrainGP
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 8, 2018
In a statement issued by the stewards, the FIA said, "The Stewards determined that the car was released unsafely in breach of Art. 28.13 a). The team released the car in a manner endangering team personnel and causing injury."
Making his second pitstop in the race, Raikkonen had come into the pits for the tyre change when there was a problem at the left rear tyre of the car. While the three tyres were swapped, the left-rear wheel was yet to be removed. But Raikkonen was given the green light that the stop was complete and he left the pit box without realising that a tyre was yet to be changed.
Francesco Cigarini, the mechanic who was preparing to swap with the left-rear tyre was mistakenly hit by Raikkonen as he ran over the mechanic's leg, injuring him in the process. A statement from Ferrari read that Cigarini has a broken shinbone and fibula, and was transferred to Bahrain's BDF Hospital for a surgery and recovery.
undefinedA post shared by Francesco Cigarini (@francesco.cigarini) on
In a statement about the incident, Raikkonen said, "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. 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 realized 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."
undefinedThanks everybody for the thousands of messages you sent to Francesco. He had a surgery last night and he is ok. He is now recovering with the best assistance. #ForzaFrancesco #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/e2j4urBK0g
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 9, 2018
Ferrari announced that it is currently investigating as to why Raikkonen was given a green light when one wheel was yet to be changed. The system is automated and triggers a green light only when all four of the tyres have been replaced. The FIA rules state that the race car cannot run on mismatched tyres, which is why the Finnish driver was instructed to stop in the pitlane.
