Williams’ “Carelessness” Results in the FIA Fining Them $10,600 for an Incident Involving Yuki Tsunoda

Williams have had a disastrous outing in Mexico so far as the stewards handed Logan Sargeant a 10-place grid penalty following a yellow flag infringement, while Alex Albon had his lap time deleted due to exceeding track limits. However, the results of the drivers are not the only thing that have gone wrong for Williams this weekend. The Wantage-based team have also been fined approximately $10,600 for the “carelessness” they showed during the qualifying session.

The FIA fined Williams this amount after the team carelessly left their equipment in the pitlane. Yuki Tsunoda ended up colliding with the equipment, resulting in the FIA having to take action because of their sporting code.

This is what Tsunoda and Williams are being investigated for:

📸: @F1#F1 #MexicanGP #MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/duKXjcMaEl

— MultiViewer (@f1multiviewer) October 28, 2023

Annex L, Chapter IV, Article 5.f of the ISC states (as quoted by motorsport-total.com), “Equipment or tires may not be placed in the pit lane in a manner that creates an unnecessary obstruction to pit lane personnel or another vehicle“. The FIA took action against Williams after Tsunoda collided with one of the team’s rear jacks.

Williams fined a total amount of $21,200

The stewards imposed a total fine of approximately $21,200, with half of it suspended for a year. This means that the Wantage-based team only needs to pay the FIA $10,600 at the moment. Meanwhile, the FIA will only penalize Williams by another $10,600 if the team suffers a similar instance again over the next year.

Any fines are a huge blow for teams like Williams who are not one of the biggest sides in F1. According to sportico.com, Williams is ranked as the ninth most-valued team in the paddock with a valuation of $795m.

In stark contrast, a team like Ferrari is valued at a whopping $3.13 billion. It is this reason why every point lost or penalty incurred by Williams hurts them more than most teams.

As for the Mexican City GP, Alex Albon will start in 14th for the Wantage-based outfit. Meanwhile, Logan Sargeant will start all the way back in 19th.