No penalties for opening-lap collisions
The chain of first-lap crashes that eliminated three drivers from Sunday's 2015 Formula 1 British Grand Prix has effectively been declared a racing incident by Formula One racing's governing body, the FIA.
As the field headed into Turn 3 for the first time, contact was made between Lotus's Romain Grosjean and Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, which flicked Grosjean into the path of team mate Pastor Maldonado. McLaren's Fernando Alonso had to take emergency evasive action, but in doing so speared into his team mate, Jenson Button. Grosjean, Maldonado and Button were all eliminated as a result.
That trio were summoned to see the Silverstone stewards, along with Alonso and Ricciardo, to review the sequence of events, and although Grosjean had suggested that Ricciardo had initiated the crash, it was decided that no further action was warranted.
"After hearing from all the drivers involved in the Turn 3 incident at the start of the race," read the stewards' statement, "it was decided that no driver was wholly or predominately to blame."
Ricciardo would also retire late in the race with electrical issues, while Alonso went on to finish 10th, claiming his first point of the season in the process.
Next Up
Related Articles
Brown insists McLaren ‘won’t change the way we race’
F1 CEO Domenicali reflects on 'phenomenal' 2025
3 inspiring individuals share their paths to working in F1
Vasseur says he misjudged impact of switching focus to 2026
10 ways to get your Formula 1 fix during the winter break
Lindblad's car number confirmed for rookie season