Kush Maini has been penalised for his role in a serious accident firstly of the Formula 2 race in Azerbaijan.
Competition in Baku was red flagged after a number of seconds attributable to an incident involving an Invicta driver handsOliver Goethe of MP Motorsport and Team Campos driver Pepe Marti.
Maini, starting in fifth, stalled and remained in his starting position as the sphere unfolded to avoid a collision. But after Goethe clipped the stationary Invicta, Marti – who began twenty first of twenty-two – hit the left rear of Maini, flipping his automobile the other way up before it was righted by further contact with the pit wall.
Both Maini and a representative of the Invicta team were summoned to look before the stewards, but the driving force failed to look.
During the hearing, stewards determined that Maini had didn’t initiate the race start procedure, which led to the race stalling and the following incident.
As a result, Maini received a 10-second time penalty, which was converted right into a five-place grid penalty for the subsequent race he competes in. Barring anything unexpected, that will likely be a sprint race in Qatar.
Two points were also added to his record.
While it didn't matter much given his immediate retirement, Maini was also disqualified from the important race because “a specific setup activation procedure must be used during all formation lap and race starts,” in line with the stewards' report.
“I am glad that no one was hurt and that Oliver and Pepe are okay,” Maini said. “That is crucial thing after such an accident.
“It’s a real shame the weekend ended like this because we had great pace in practice, qualifying and the sprint.”
Team principal Andy Roche added: “I do know I speak for everybody within the team after I say we’re simply relieved to see Kush come out of this huge incident unscathed.
“Nobody likes to see accidents like this, but it’s proof that the FIA ​​and Formula 2 cars have come out of them unscathed.”
