F1 News: Daniel Ricciardo Hit With 3-Place Grid Penalty for Miami GP

FIA stewards have imposed a three-place grid penalty on Daniel Ricciardo for overtaking under Safety Car conditions during the Chinese Grand Prix. The incident involving Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg has led to a penalty for the Australian driver, when many expected it to be the German driver who would receive the penalty.

This disciplinary action stems from an incident during the race where Ricciardo overtook Nico Hulkenberg's Car 27 under Safety Car conditions, a maneuver deemed illegal under the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations.

The stewards reviewed multiple pieces of evidence including the positioning and marshalling system data, video footage, timing data, team radio communications, and in-car video footage. Their investigation concluded that Ricciardo's actions breached Article 55.8 of the sporting regulations, which strictly prohibits overtaking under safety car conditions unless explicitly permitted.

During the steward's hearing, which included both Ricciardo and Hulkenberg along with their respective team representatives, Ricciardo admitted to the overtaking maneuver. He justified his actions by claiming he was reclaiming a position wrongly taken by Hulkenberg under similar conditions earlier in the race. However, his justification fell flat as the stewards pointed out that Hulkenberg’s earlier move was within the regulations.

As well as the drop of three grid positions at the upcoming Miami Grand Prix, Ricciardo has been assigned two penalty points on his license, bringing his total to two for the current 12-month period.

The immediate consequence for Ricciardo during the race would have been a 10-second time penalty. However, due to the car's retirement before the penalty could be served, the stewards opted for the grid penalty in the subsequent race instead.