Ganassi disgruntled as Pagenaud escapes Long Beach IndyCar penalty

Penske driver Pagenaud cut across two yellow lines to rejoin the track ahead of Ganassi's Scott Dixon at the final pitstops, in a move IndyCar immediately announced was under review.

But the series' three-man stewards' panel of Dan Davis, two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Arie Luyendyk and former driver Max Papis only issued a warning to Pagenaud, with an IndyCar statement saying they deemed a full penalty "too severe".

Ganassi managing director Mike Hull had been certain Pagenaud would be penalised.

"It's pretty obvious why he drove over," Hull said.

"They told us in the drivers' meeting you weren't allowed to do that.

"He turned so abruptly his outside front wheel was over the line. All four wheels were over.

"They didn't say what the penalty was going to be but you shouldn't be allowed to continue to lead the race.

"We can't appeal the decision. They have all the control."

Dixon said while he did not blame Pagenaud personally, he had understood a reduction in warnings in favour of immediate penalties had been a key part of IndyCar's winter changes.

"[The team] said, 'Don't push too hard, he's going to get a drive-through or at least give the spot back'," Dixon told Autosport.

"Simon did it but it's not his fault, either. He doesn't make the rules and it's not his job to regulate the rules, either.

"I thought we had outlawed warnings.

"This was the problem we had in the off-season with people getting warnings all the time, especially when you're using it to your advantage when it's the last pitstop sequence or anything like that.

"That's why this was discussed so deeply in the off-season, and why there were about 40 or 50 warning zones in the rulebook removed.

"I don't even know why we discussed the pitlane exit if we're not going to stick to rules. Everybody else abided by it."

Pagenaud said he had been unaware of the incident or the prospect of a penalty.

Team Penske president Tim Cindric admitted he was concerned when the move was under review but felt there was no precedent for a penalty in that situation, while team owner Roger Penske added "it would have been tough to take a guy out of the lead".

Fellow team owner Michael Andretti was adamant Pagenaud should have received some form of punishment.

"There are rules, and if you break a rule, you should get penalised," he argued.

"He broke a rule, and it was pretty blatant, so it seems.

"What does a warning do? The rules are that way for a reason, not to be warned."