Racing Bulls hit with heavy fine as FIA highlights ‘serious matter’

Racing Bulls has been fined €30,000 following the technical failure that brought Liam Lawson to a halt during Friday practice for the Canadian Grand Prix – though most of the penalty has been suspended.

Lawson’s car stopped just 10 minutes into the lone practice session at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, triggering the first of three red flags and immediately disrupting preparations across the field.

What initially appeared to be a routine mechanical issue soon developed into a more serious concern once marshals attempted to recover the stranded car.

According to the FIA stewards, the problem centered on the car’s Clutch Disengagement System (CDS) – an external mechanism designed to release the clutch so a stationary Formula 1 car can be moved safely after an incident.

In Lawson’s case, the system failed completely.

FIA labels failure a ‘serious matter’

The stewards detailed how a hydraulic problem first caused the Racing Bulls machine to stop before the CDS itself became unusable.

“The team’s engineer explained how the CDS system worked,” the stewards reported.

“It was noted that the system on this car performs two roles – the one for which is it primarily intended, namely to release the clutch when the car is stopped and the engine is not working, and the other relates to the anti-stall system.

“In this case, a ruptured joint caused a hydraulic leak, which caused the car to stop. The CDS, when activated by the marshal, then failed to release the clutch and hence the car could not be moved.”

That inability to move the car forced race control to suspend the session with a full red flag rather than neutralising it with a Virtual Safety Car.

The stewards made clear they viewed the failure as significant.

“This is a serious matter. It resulted in the session being red-flagged. Had the system worked as intended by the regulations, the incident could have been dealt with swiftly via deployment of the Virtual Safety Car.”

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The FIA also revealed that Racing Bulls had already been cautioned earlier in 2025 over concerns surrounding the CDS design.

“The Stewards note the concern of the FIA Technical Delegate, over the dual purpose of the CDS on this car. The Technical Delegate advised that the team had, in 2025, been warned about the CDS system design for its cars.”

Although the team escaped a heavier punishment, the €30,000 fine came with a warning attached: €20,000 of the sanction has been suspended for 12 months, pending no repeat offence.

Marshals’ actions also questioned

The incident report did not focus solely on the team. Lawson himself raised concerns over how marshals handled the stranded car at trackside.

“The driver noted that there were two issues of concern that he wished to draw to the attention of the stewards, namely that contrary to his instructions and common practice, the marshals attempted to push the car when it was stationary, and that the marshal who attempted to activate the CDS was trying to press a button on the on-board camera rather than the CDS button.”

That prompted the stewards to call for additional practical training for recovery crews despite existing FIA guidance documents.

“This indicates to the stewards that further training in this area is required, notwithstanding the fact that the FIA distributes a very clear document addressing this action. (ref “FIA Single Seater Recovery Specifications”).

“We note that it is obvious that the distribution of such a document, although well detailed, probably needs supplementing with some form of practical training by the organisers.”

The case has also reignited debate over Racing Bulls’ CDS design philosophy. While Formula 1 regulations do not explicitly ban a system from serving multiple purposes, FIA officials appear concerned that combining clutch release and anti-stall functions may increase the risk of failure in critical situations.

For Racing Bulls, a seemingly clever engineering solution has ultimately turned into an expensive and highly public reprimand in Montreal.

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