Mercedes must report to stewards after alleged parc fermé violation

Mercedes may be in trouble. The team has to report to the stewards for both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell due to an alleged breach of post-race procedures.

The call from the FIA stewards states that a representative of the team should come forward, along with the physiotherapists of Hamilton and Russell. With that, it looks like a similar violation as we have seen before, where the physiotherapists had already joined the drivers where not yet allowed.

Physiotherapists must wait outside the cool-down area behind the stage until the podium ceremony is over, but it is possible that this did not happen in this case. This is a violation of the parc fermé rules, but a severe penalty seems unlikely.

After the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were all fined for violating this rule. If it is indeed a similar offence this time, the Mercedes drivers may get off with a suspended fine.