ROUND 23: Abu Dhabi 🇦🇪
FORMULA 1 ETIHAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX 2023
Circuit stats
- First Grand Prix: 2009
- Number of laps: 58
- Circuit Length: 5.281 km
- Race Distance: 306.183 km
- Lap record: 1:26.103 Max Verstappen (2021)
- 2022 winner: Max Verstappen
Track Map
Why was Hamilton driving into Gasly allowed, while a wheel to wheel battle resulting in touching wheels was punished with 5 seconds for Perez?
Hamilton and Gasly is pretty clear cut. Gasly locked up and Hamilton couldn’t respond in time which is why Hamilton hit Gasly, that’s a pretty clear racing incident. Norris and Perez isn’t that clear cut.
I can absolutely understanding arguing that it was just a racing incident because Perez didn’t expect Norris to turn in and Norris didn’t expect Perez to run wide. But at the same time there’s an argument to be made that Perez could’ve turned into the apex but decided to go wide (and watching it back it does seem like he doesn’t really commit to the apex which makes him go wide).
The stewards seemed to have gone for the latter explanation and given him a penalty, which seems like a consistent ruling considering Max got the same penalty for a similar situation in Las Vegas (and there Max had a bigger case for it being a racing incident).