Force India have been hit with a €5,000 fine for an unsafe release of Sergio Perez's car during second practice for the Spanish Grand Prix.
Perez exited the pitlane and managed to get to Turn 7 before it became apparent that his front-left wheel wasn't attached properly. The Mexican continued to Turn 9 before pulling to the side of the circuit under instruction from his team.
The stewards reviewed the matter after the session and deemed a cross-threaded wheel nut to be the issue. Due to the "appropriate measures" being taken immediately after it became apparent, the stewards imposed a fine instead of a grid penalty at their discretion.
"The Stewards reviewed the video and audio of the pit stop of Car 11 at 16:16 and heard from the team representative and the driver," read a statement from the FIA.
"The Stewards determined that the car was released in an unsafe condition in breach of Art. 28.13(b) as the wheel was not properly attached to the car when released.
"Unusually, the wheel clamped to the car and it was not immediately apparent that the wheel was not fully fitted. The Stewards had the Technical Delegate inspect the car, and his conclusion agreed with the team’s that although the wheel clamped, the wheel nut was cross threaded.
"The driver stopped the car in a safe manner as soon as the above became apparent to him. And while there was some confusion on the radio, the team gave appropriate instructions as soon as they realised the issue, which was not apparent until just before Turn 9.
"Consistent with previous decisions of a similar nature, the Stewards decided that the grid place penalty mentioned in the above Article would not be applied as all appropriate measures were taken, and in particular it was not obvious that the car was unsafe when it was released.
"Nevertheless, it is the responsibility of the team to take all measures to ensure that the wheel is fully fitted and accordingly, the Stewards fine the team €5,000."
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