(Motorsports news) Following his elimination from GP qualifying at last weekend’s event, Stroll seemed to shove his trainer Henry Howe after throwing his steering wheel out of his cockpit. On Tuesday, the governing body announced that its compliance officer was meeting with Stroll to review various occurrences that may have violated the FIA’s rules, standards, and procedures.
While the FIA did not specify them, they are believed to have been directed at Stroll’s antics at the Losail track last Friday and centered on the FIA’s International Sporting Code’s catch-all ‘disrepute’ clause.
On Friday afternoon, an FIA representative gave an update that effectively closed the subject, with Stroll receiving a warning for his actions in Qatar and future behavior. “We can confirm that the FIA Compliance Officer has received an apology from Lance Stroll regarding his actions during the 2023 Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix,” the FIA said in a statement.
“The Compliance Officer has taken note of this apology and issued a written warning to Lance, reminding him of his responsibilities as a competitor bound by the FIA Code of Ethics and other FIA ethical and conduct guidelines established by sporting regulations.” On Friday afternoon, an FIA representative gave an update that effectively closed the subject, with Stroll receiving a warning for his actions in Qatar and future behavior.
“The FIA maintains a zero-tolerance stance against misconduct and condemns any actions that may lead to physical harassment.” Stroll’s actions appear to be in violation of FIA ISC Article 12.2.1.c, which states that a competitor is guilty of an offence if they are found guilty of “any fraudulent conduct or any act prejudicial to the interests of any competition or to the interests of motorsport generally.”
This regulation was underlined in the instance of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who shoved then-Force India driver Esteban Ocon in the parc ferme at Interlagos after the two collided in the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix. Verstappen was eventually sentenced to two days of community service as punishment for his behavior in Brazil, which included attending the 2019 Marrakesh Formula E race to study how the event’s stewards assessed driver conduct.
Stroll’s Aston Martin team had already moved to downplay its driver’s actions in Qatar, with team principal Mike Krack stating that “you have to speak about these things but you have to put them in relation [to surrounding circumstances]” when asked how the team would approach the incident with Stroll. “I think you cannot speak in the heat of the moment,” he said. “You need to wait, and maybe everybody sleeps one night and then we have a look and we discuss it and then the world is a different one.”
