F1 | Masi: “Stewards are more lenient in contacts between teammates”

Formula 1 race director Michael Masi has explained the reason why it was decided not to give any penalties to Charles Leclerc, responsible for the contact with Sebastian Vettel during the first lap of the Styrian Grand Prix. The accident, which forced both Ferrari drivers to retire, was noticed by the stewards but in the end it was decided not to take action against the Monegasque. Masi admitted that in case there are two teammates involved, there is more leniency in judging:

“It certainly influences and is taken into consideration but I don't know if this is a determining factor. In the past we have seen incidents between teammates who were then penalised. I think it changes overall depending on the severity of the accident, to be honest.”

The stewards also examined Lance Stroll's overtaking on Daniel Ricciardo where both went off track; also in this case no action:

“In that case, neither pilot was primarily responsible for the accident. According to the stewards, one driver must bear all or most of the blame and, in their view, neither was primarily responsible, so on that basis their decision was that there was no breach of the regulations and no further action was necessary.".