F1 Announced Punishment for Sergio Perez at Chinese GP Sprint

After reviewing the timing data, the stewards determined that Perez had breached Article B5.13.2b of the FIA Formula 1 Sporting Regulations, resulting in a five-second time penalty being applied to the Mexican driver. The FIA noted that the minimum time requirement must be respected at all times under Safety Car conditions to maintain safety and consistency across the field.

Chaotic Chinese GP Sprint Weekend Precedes Historic Qualifying

The Sprint phase of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend began with an early setback for the Cadillac driver, who was unable to participate in Sprint Qualifying after a fuel system issue prevented him from setting a lap time during SQ1. However, the stewards later permitted Perez to start the Sprint race after reviewing his pace from earlier sessions.

Meanwhile, the Sprint race at the Shanghai International Circuit was won by Mercedes driver George Russell, who finished ahead of Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.

Besides Perez’s penalty, another major incident in the Sprint involved Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, who received a 10-second time penalty for a collision with Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar at Turn 6 on Lap 1.

Despite the Sprint race drama and multiple steward decisions, attention quickly shifted to qualifying in Shanghai. Antonelli’s record-breaking pole position capped a dramatic day for Mercedes, setting up a front-row lockout alongside teammate George Russell for Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix.