The 2024 Monaco GP has only completed one practice session and Valtteri Bottas and Lance Stroll have already found themselves in trouble. Both drivers exceeded the speed limit in the pit lane which the stewards took note of. While the Finn will have to pay 1000 Euros ($1084) for the infringement, Stroll will shell out 100 Euros ($108).
Every F1 circuit has a speed limit that each driver has to adhere to. While most pit lanes require drivers to stay below 80 kph (49.7 mph), Monaco has stipulated the limit to 60 kph (37.2 mph). The severity of punishment, in this case, a fine, depends on how much the driver infringed the speed limit.
In the note published by the FIA stewards, Lance Stroll exceeded the limit by 0.2 kph (0.12 mph). Valtteri Bottas, on the other hand, breached the speed barrier by 14.6 kph (9 mph). The vast difference in their speed is the reason why the duo picked a different fine for the same infringement.
1,000 euro fine for Valtteri Bottas who was caught speeding in the pitlane pic.twitter.com/hnYxOkzx5A
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) May 24, 2024
Stroll is currently 11th in the standings with the same number of points to his name. The Canadian driver has been severely underperforming since the start of the season. In comparison, his teammate Fernando Alonso is ninth in the standings with triple the points Stroll has scored.
Valtteri Bottas, on the other hand, has yet to score a point and shares the bottom spot with four other drivers. Those include his Sauber teammate Zhou Guanyu.
Incidentally, this is not the first time Lance Stroll has picked a fine for speeding in the pit lane this season. During the Miami GP, Stroll was caught over the limit in the first practice session at 83.5 kph (2.17 mph). The infringement cost him 400 Euros ($433) back then.
Top 3 offenders of 2024 (so far)
Formula 1 has only completed seven races so far. However, there is a list of infringements that have cost the teams dearly. Most drivers have an arrangement that stipulates the teams to pay for their violations. The season started with a clean record as no driver or team picked an offense. Since then, things haven’t gone as smoothly.
Currently, Lando Norris tops the list with a whopping 50,000 Euro ($54,215) fine. The Briton picked the fine for crossing the track in an unsafe manner after crashing out at the Miami GP Sprint. Half of that amount was suspended by the ruling body.
MULTA de 50000€ y reprimenda para Lando Norris por cruzar la pista andando en la sprint.#F1 #MiamiGP pic.twitter.com/hOy5Bt1Zg5
— Fórmula Directa (@FormulaDirecta) May 4, 2024
Mercedes comes second on the list with a combined infringement that adds up to 20,000 Euro ($21,686). 15,000 Euro ($16,264) of that amount came from Lewis Hamilton’s impeding offense on Logan Sargeant during free practice in Saudi Arabia. The rest was a result of George Russell’s unsafe release during the Japanese GP qualifying.
Alpine lands third on the list, owing to Pierre Gasly’s unsafe incident during the pit stop at the Chinese GP. The French team paid 10,000 Euros ($10,834) for the incident that left one of the mechanics injured.
