Penalty for pit exit passes drops Hulkenberg to seventh on grid

26 comments on “Penalty for pit exit passes drops Hulkenberg to seventh on grid”

1. 

   Jere (@jerejj)
   7th December 2024, 18:32

   His pit tunnel passes went unseen on the world feed, but a fair penalty, & if anything, Haas’ garage position should’ve been an advantage for them in qualifyings this year.
2. 

   mzs16 (@mzs16)
   7th December 2024, 19:01

   Interesting one this… with how tight the field was in Q1, it’s understandable that Haas took a risk to get the best possible track position. It’s still a lot better to cop a penalty and start 7th than go safe and potentially miss out on Q2.
3. 

   Coventry Climax
   7th December 2024, 19:14

   Pretty sad, actually. Very understandable Hulkenberg wanted to get a lap in. It’s quite pathetic to see them all go slow in the pitlane. Sure, go sooner would be the solution, but with the “tyres” Pirelli gives them, you want as much rubber on track as possible.
   Still, good lap from Hulkenberg.
   1. 

      Esploratore (@esploratore1)
      8th December 2024, 3:34

      Ahah, I like how you put tyres in quotes, pirelli aren’t a popular supplier amongst fans!
      1. 

         SteveP
         8th December 2024, 9:16

         I don’t think you will find the race engineers and drivers will be sending Pirelli any Christmas cards, either.

         The list of people who do like Pirelli tyres fills the rest of this line: Pirelli
4. 

   Michael (@freelittlebirds)
   7th December 2024, 20:04

   Ridiculous – guess who did the same thing last year in FP2 and got away with it? None other than Max Verstappen.

   And now Hulkenberg gets a penalty for trying to set a lap. This sport is nothing but a joke.

   Wait, why is that a point? Oh, we are playing doubles lines this time around! Really, last time when I won Wimbledon we were playing singles. Yeah, my court, my rules!
   1. 

      Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
      7th December 2024, 20:44

      Penalties are pretty consistent regarding being harsher in qualifying than practice. The same for the race over qualifying. There are plenty of things in practice that drivers never get penalties for that they would do come qualifying.
      1. 

         Michael (@freelittlebirds)
         7th December 2024, 22:16

         @thegianthogweed indeed safety has 3 tiers – practice, qualifying, and races. Technically, 4 tiers if we add Max Verstappen.

         How is speeding in the pit lane safer during practice or qualifying? Are the crews’ lives more expendable on weekdays and Saturdays? That essentially means that the penalties are more important for the entertainment they provide than safety itself.

         And the last time we were at Yas Marina, Max was inconvenienced by the existence of other drivers and passed them and there’s no penalty. A year later at the same event, Haas risks losing $10 million as a result of doing the same in order to put a lap in.
         1. 

            RUTH222
            8th December 2024, 1:01

            They also get a penalty because of the benefit you get from it. You get a benefit from speeding in the pitlane in a race. Not so much in free practice.

            Today, the passing Hulkenberg did made sure he had an advantage – that’s why he got a penalty.
            1. 

               Michael (@freelittlebirds)
               8th December 2024, 1:43

               It’s a good point but the penalty always negates the benefit except in very few circumstances. Even the smallest penalty, a 5 second penalty, will almost never make up for speeding in the pit lane.
      2. 

         SPArtacus
         8th December 2024, 12:39

         I think An Sionnach had the most insightful / relevant post on Hulk’s penalty vs George getting away without a penalty for impeding Lawson:

         Ordinarily I would say that it would be fine to wave George’s impeding out of the way as no harm was done (largely due to Lawson’s commitment). The problem is that it follows last week’s incident where neither driver was on a push lap and no harm was done. As George said himself of Max’s penalty:
         “Maybe it was a little bit harsh, but these are the rules”.

         Well, this quote would more accurately apply to George. Max’s penalty wasn’t in “the rules”. If George was penalised today, it would be a bit harsh, but within the rules. It’s okay that it was waved away, but it doesn’t look right next to Max’s inexplicable penalty. Absolute joke.
   2. 

      notagrumpyfan
      7th December 2024, 22:04

      Normally, drivers are permitted to overtake rivals after crossing the pit exit line before joining the race track. However, race director Rui Marques prohibited drivers from overtaking along the pit entry road in his updated event notes published on Friday.

      Ridiculous – guess who wants to apply last years event notes to this year’s race? None other than @whinylittlebirds.
      1. 

         Michael (@freelittlebirds)
         7th December 2024, 22:10

         @notagrumpyfan You cannot be changing the rules – clearly Max got away with it when he had nothing to gain. What’s next – race bans when another driver does what Max did in 2021? If I were Hulk, I’d have said my name is Max Verstappen – I have immunity. Thank you, goodbye.
         1. 

            David (@nvherman)
            7th December 2024, 22:16

            @freelittlebirds you cannot compare last season’s event to this year’s: the Race Director put a different rule in for this year, and everyone know what it was.
            Therefore Verstappen wasn’t penalised in 2023, as he didn’t break the rules
            1. 

               Michael (@freelittlebirds)
               7th December 2024, 22:21

               @nvherman that sounds so ridiculous that I don’t even know what to say.

               What are the rules du jour? Mr Marques, could I have some grated gruyere with my appetizer please? You cannot change them when the driver that committed the first offense gets away with it. Clearly this is in response to Max’s antics last year and Hulkenberg and Haas got penalized as is usually the case in these criminal situations.
            2. 

               notagrumpyfan
               7th December 2024, 23:36

               @nvherman that sounds so ridiculous that I don’t even know what to say.

               There is nothing you should say, other than: sorry guys, due to the blinkers I wear I wasn’t able to read the article which clearly explains that the RD issued additional rules this year.
               And maybe add: my consistent bias stops me from seeing the obvious.
            3. 

               Michael (@freelittlebirds)
               8th December 2024, 1:40

               which clearly explains that the RD issued additional rules this year.

               This race director, Rui Marques, is new and issued in his updated event notes published on Friday. Clearly I had read it and you hd not.

               I’m not sure most drivers had read them and probably assumed it was legal based on Max’s driving last year.
            4. 

               Osnola
               8th December 2024, 11:09

               The vest and most realistic quote from littlewhinerbird..

               that sounds so ridiculous that I don’t even know what to say.

               So the mirror tip seems to work here.
            5. 

               Kata
               8th December 2024, 11:31

               @freelittlebirds

               “I’m not sure most drivers had read them and probably assumed it was legal based on Max’s driving last year.”

               Really? So drivers just drive around and not even check the rules that apply at that moment? Speaking of a joke, that’s a good one.

               But on the other hand -> If there is one thing you cannot say about Verstappen is that he doesn’t know the rules.
            6. 

               Michael (@freelittlebirds)
               8th December 2024, 12:48

               eally? So drivers just drive around and not even check the rules that apply at that moment? Speaking of a joke, that’s a good one.

               They should do a test – it’d be fun to see the percentage.
   3. 

      Kata
      8th December 2024, 6:24

      The only thing that’s ridiculous is your comment. In the event notes (V2) of this weekend it’s clearly stated that for this event: “12.4 Overtaking is prohibited in the pit exit road unless a car slows with an obvious problem.”
      1. 

         Osnola
         8th December 2024, 11:10

         But is was an option to introduce max verstappen in a completely unrelated topic. How could michael miss that opportunity :)
      2. 

         Michael (@freelittlebirds)
         8th December 2024, 12:50

         12.4 ? The event notes have 12.4? Can you please share them? Did you read all the paperwork for your mortgage which you’ll have to pay over your entire life?
5. 

   notagrumpyfan
   7th December 2024, 23:35

   @nvherman that sounds so ridiculous that I don’t even know what to say.

   There is nothing you should say, other than: sorry guys, due to the blinkers I wear I wasn’t able to read the article which clearly explains that the RD issued additional rules this year.
   And maybe add: my consistent bias stops me from seeing the obvious.
   1. 

      SPArtacus
      8th December 2024, 12:43

      Lot of Hulk cultists these days? I don’t remember seeing one ever. Do you know how many dozens if not hundreds of times drivers have been “noted” but not penalized for violations of RD directives during quali and free practice? What makes this discretionary decision any different?
6. 

   lynn-m
   7th December 2024, 23:50

   It’s a pretty dumb thing to ‘ban’ because the pit lane is technically still a part of the racetrack and a part of it where overtaking has traditionally been allowed so long as it wasn’t done in an unsafe way.

   I saw Anthony Davidson’s analysis of it and what Nico did was not done in an unsafe way.

   It’s just another joke rule to add to the already over-regulated list of things that end up with drivers getting absurdly dumb and unnecessary penalties.

   May as well just ban cars from getting close to each other.

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