Ricciardo was eliminated from the Chinese Grand Prix after Lance Stroll ran into the back of the RB on Lap 29 ahead of a Safety Car restart.

However, it was for a separate incident behind the Safety Car for which the Australian was penalised.

Investigated post-race, stewards found Ricciardo had overtaken under the Safety Car.

“The driver of Car 3 admitted that he overtook Car 27 deliberately but he explained that he felt that he could do so because Car 27 had overtaken him under safety car before on Lap 28,” the stewards explained.

“We note that Car 27 was permitted to overtake Car 3 on Lap 28 because of Article 55.8.

“There was no justifiable basis for Car 3 to overtake Car 27 while the race was under Safety Car conditions.

“We accordingly imposed a 10 second time penalty on Car 3.

“As Car 3 was unable to serve the penalty due to retirement, we imposed a 3-grid place penalty to Car 3 for the next race in which the driver participates.”

On top of that the 34-year-old also picked up two penalty points for his actions, his first of the season.

He wasn’t the only driver to fall foul under the Safety Car, with Logan Sargeant handed a 10-second time penalty during the race.

As the American saw the chequered flag, that time was added to his final race time – though it made no difference as he was the last classified runner already.

He also picked up two penalty points, taking his tally to eight. Drivers are allowed a total of 12 in a 12-month period, which was reset at the start of 2024.

Meanwhile, Alpine was fined €10,000 for releasing Pierre Gasly in an unsafe manner.

The Anglo-French operation had not correctly fitted the right-rear wheel to Gasly’s car before he was released, the wheel coming off the A524 as the car began to move.

Though Gasly stopped almost immediately, a mechanic was knocked over.

“The right rear tyre had not been properly fitted,” the stewards observed.

“The electronic systems that monitor if a tyre was properly fitted did not pick that up. In addition, a team member incorrectly clicked the button to release the car, despite the tyre not being fitted properly.

“As soon as the team realised the problem, they stopped the car, and prevented the car from leaving the pit box.

“In all of this, a team member fell backwards and was lightly injured. The team member was able to continue with his duties for the rest of the race.

“It was clear to us that the driver was not at fault. He was given the green light and he released the clutch and moved the car forward.

“However, he immediately stopped the car when the light turned red.

“We determined that the team was wholly responsible for what transpired.”