FIA announces Gabriel Bortoleto decision after Italian GP investigation
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Gabriel Bortoleto has escaped a penalty for a violation during Free Practice 2 at the Italian GP.
The Kick Sauber driver violated standard yellow flag procedure following a competitor’s excursion into the gravel at Monza by overtaking the No. 30 of Liam Lawson.
Gabriel Bortoleto cleared after Italian GP practice violation
During the first 10 minutes of Free Practice 2 ahead of the 2025 Italian Grand Prix, Kimi Antonelli lost control of his Mercedes and found himself beached in the gravel at the Lesmo corner.
Race directors yellow-flagged the session immediately, and when it became clear that the Italian driver would be unable to extricate himself, FP2 was red flagged.
During that period, however, Bortoleto is said to have overtaken a Racing Bulls machine, which was driving at a much slower pace than the Sauber. It is worth noting that Bortoleto had indeed also slowed at that point.
The incident was reminiscent of one that transpired in FP1, during which time Charles Leclerc overtook Bortoleto’s teammate Nico Hulkenberg under a red flag period; Leclerc received no further penalty for the incident.
Indeed, the stewards determined that Bortoleto did not violate Appendix H, Article 2.5.5 b) of the International Sporting Code.
The ruling reads: “The Stewards reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video and in-car video evidence.
“The driver of Car 5 approached a yellow flag zone before Turn 7 with Car 30 in front of him driving at a significantly lower speed.
“The first yellow flag signal displayed was on the driver’s right after Turn 6.
“At the time the yellow flag was displayed Car 5 already was in close proximity of Car 30.
“This resulted in Car 30 partially blocking the driver’s view of the yellow flag.
“The Stewards determine that the driver of Car 5 did not have sufficient time to react to the yellow flag before overtaking Car 30.
“Also taking into account that Car 5 reduced speed significantly after passing the first yellow flag and passed the site of the incident causing the yellow flag at a slow speed, the Stewards decide that, although technically a breach of the regulations occurred, no penalty needs to be applied.”
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