Ferrari junior Antonio Fuoco calls bizarre F2 grid penalty a 'joke'
Ferrari Academy and Charouz Racing System driver Antonio Fuoco has labelled his three-place grid penalty for the next Formula 2 round at Spa a "joke"
The Italian received a five-second penalty during the sprint race at the Hungaroring last weekend for speeding in the pitlane.
Fuoco was later called in for a stop, but did not take the five-second penalty in the pits as per the regulations as he and the team believed that the penalty would be added post-race.
"It's not nice," said Fuoco. "I don't want to say anything bad about the stewards.
"You can see also what they have done today [the three place grid penalty], I think it's a joke."
Fuoco had been involved in an incident in the feature race the previous day.
The Italian's race pace has been strong this year - in contrast to Charouz's qualifying struggles - and he again drove through the field on Saturday, initially advancing from 12th to second.
But having just taken second from Sergio Sette Camara, Fuoco was then hit by the Carlin driver at the penultimate corner and was pitched into a spin.
Sette Camara was given an instant penalty that dropped him to seventh, with Fuoco finishing third.
"I spoke with him [Sette Camara] and he said sorry," added Fuoco. "I was lucky as I took the clutch [to avoid a stall so he could keep going].
"It's a big joke because 10 seconds is nothing for him because then he finished P7 and he could finish on the podium [Sette Camara was third in Sunday's sprint race].
"I think the stewards need to understand a bit more."
Fuoco's penalty for speeding in the pitlane came after he hit Sette Camara, who had backed off to remain under the virtual safety car delta time just as Fuoco sped up.
That left Fuoco nowhere to go given his closing speed, and a broken front wing forced him to pit.
"I think Sergio started to push and then went negative on the delta and he slowed down," added Fuoco.
"For me it was on the limit, but the stewards decided there was nothing further.
"But I think it was on the limit, maybe a bit too much on the limit. I destroyed my race and I think today [Sunday] I could have finished on the podium."
Previous article
Norris: Broken front wing to blame for Hungary F2 feature race loss
Next article
Formula 2's 2018 start problems are now 'history' - Charlie Whiting
About this article
| Series | FIA F2 |
| Drivers | Antonio Fuoco |
| Author | Jack Benyon |
Was Formula 2’s radical format switch a success?
Going into the 2021 Formula 2 season the biggest talking point wasn’t about any drivers or teams, but the new race weekend format. Created partly out of financial necessity but also to spice up the action, the Bahrain opener provided a snapshot of the positives and negatives to come
Why 2021 is make-or-break for the driver F1 needs
He was tipped for glory in FIA Formula 2 last year, but was hampered by reliability woes at inopportune moments. Guanyu Zhou knows he won't get too many more chances if he is to become China's first F1 driver, with fierce competition within the ranks of Alpine's junior stable
How Schumacher Jr earned his Haas F1 chance
Michael Schumacher may have won seven Formula 1 titles, but he didn't even compete for a crown at the second tier. Son Mick put that right in 2020, and proved to Ferrari that he was deserving of a shot at motorsport's elite category in 2021
The quintet giving Ferrari a tough decision to make
The Ferrari Driver Academy earned a podium sweep in the first Formula 2 race of the new decade in Austria last weekend. The battle between 'the FDA five' is set to be one of the major subplots of the season, but who has the best F1 prospects for 2021?
The Williams junior determined to prove Red Bull wrong
Dropped by his team in Japan and by Red Bull, Dan Ticktum's single-seater career seemed to be over last summer. But now he's on the Formula 2 grid with the reigning champion team, and he's a new protege of Williams. How did that happen?
The controversial weekend that ended an American's dream in Europe
OPINION: In the latest in our series of features looking back the recently concluded 2010s, we recall one of the many sagas of the 2018 Formula 2 season, which featured unusual fines and an unsavoury clash between team-mates
The year Leclerc fully revealed his star status
In the latest feature in our series looking back on the 2010s, we revisit Charles Leclerc's sensational Formula 2 season - where he strode among on-track highs and lows, as well as tragedy away from motorsport, to earn a place on the Formula 1 grid
Why F1 is no longer ignoring its feeder series
After the MotoGP-style Formula 1 support ladder was fully united for 2019, Bruno Michel and Ross Brawn share their views on the current state of Formula 2 and FIA Formula 3 and explain why investment at junior levels should boost the top tier
