In the aftermath of the Bahrain Grand Prix, George Russell has retained his second-place position despite concerns over his use of the drag reduction system (DRS). During the race, Russell faced multiple electronic issues, including problems with his car's brake and DRS connection. His race engineer advised him to manually activate the DRS when in range of another car. An investigation revealed he briefly activated DRS but voluntarily compensated for any gained advantage. The stewards concluded that while there was a technical breach, no penalty was warranted due to the lack of competitive gain.
I had all sorts of problems with the car. The steering wheel, I was losing all my electronic displays... It was exceptionally difficult towards the end.
The DRS was activated for a distance of 37 metres on a straight of approximately 700 metres... Whilst he gained 0.02 seconds, he gave up 0.28 seconds at the next corner to compensate. This was confirmed by telemetry.
Russell was instructed by his race engineer to override the system and activate it manually if he was in range of the car in front.
Accordingly whilst technically a breach occurred, the Stewards decide that as there was no sporting advantage gained, no penalty is imposed.
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