MP Motorsport driver Mahaveer Raghunathan has avoided a second Formula 2 ban of the year despite reaching the 12-point cut-off in Abu Dhabi.
Raghunathan has spent much of the 2019 campaign at the back of the pack and hit the 12-point limited in France, but was permitted to race that weekend, before his ban applied for the following weekend's round in Austria.
Under the wording of the FIA regulations a suspension for a driver is activated at the following event, rather than the current event, even if the 12-point mark is reached.
Raghunathan’s tally was wiped clean upon his return in Britain but transgressions amassed since then means he reached 12 points again after an incident during practice on Friday.
Raghunathan did not correctly follow the practice start procedure and carried one out despite there being two cars ahead of him at the time.
As a result he must start the Feature Race from the pit lane but he is permitted to race in spite of reaching the maximum number of penalty points.
This is because the ban will only apply for the following round of the campaign, and Abu Dhabi is the season finale, after which all points are wiped from the record.
The FIA is seeking to change the regulations, originally written for Formula 1, in 2020, in order for a race ban to be applied at the current event, rather than the next event.
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