Williams has been hit with a €5,000 ($8,300) fine for its lack of communication with Logan Sargeant during first practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix which almost resulted in a major collision with Jack Doohan.
In his second practice outing of the year with Alpine, Doohan narrowly avoided what he proclaimed would have been “the biggest accident” of his life as he came across a slow-moving Sargeant.
Doohan was forced to dive to the inside on the approach to the final corner as he attempted to avoid the Williams. Given the angle and the speed, any impact would have been significant.
The FIA stewards took a dim view of the situation, wholly placing the blame on the Williams pit wall for not keeping Sargeant informed.
A report read: “The driver of car 2 was preparing for a push lap and the radio communication from his engineer was almost entirely about preparation for that lap.
“The driver only received a warning of the approach of car 61 (Doohan), one second prior to its arrival. This could easily have resulted in a collision.
“In mitigation it was noted that 50 percent of the field were substitute drivers and hence there were many different run plans in operation, making it hard for teams to predict whether cars were going to be on push laps or otherwise.
“However, on a circuit where there are a number of places where it is not possible for the driver to have effective use of the mirrors to see approaching cars, it is essential that priority of radio communications be given to warning the driver, of other cars, rather than information for the preparation of a push lap.
“Accordingly a fine for the team is warranted.
“All teams are reminded that they are expected to provide their drivers with adequate warning of approaching cars in all practice sessions but especially in qualification and that failure to do so will be investigated.
“A reprimand for the driver is warranted.”
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