Bortoleto penalized despite Safety Car board error
Gabriel Bortoleto received a 10-second time penalty for overtaking under yellow flags during the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku. Erroneous Safety Car boards appeared at marshal posts without an actual deployment by Race Control. Stewards upheld the standard penalty for the yellow flag breach despite the confusion and conflicting information provided to the Audi driver.
Incident details
Gabriel Bortoleto crossed the line 13th in the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix before stewards applied a 10-second time penalty for overtaking under yellow flags.[1] The incident occurred between Turns 6 and 7 on the first lap after a restart following a Turn 1 crash involving multiple cars. Marshal posts displayed physical Safety Car boards and waved yellow flags in the section. Stewards confirmed the Safety Car had not been deployed by Race Control at the relevant time. Bortoleto overtook Sergio Perez's Cadillac in the zone. The penalty dropped him to 15th and last among classified finishers.
Stewards' reasoning
The FIA stewards document states that marshal posts showed Safety Car boards together with waved yellow flags.[2] Bortoleto initially reacted to the boards and flags but noted no electronic Safety Car indication on his steering wheel and confirmation from his Audi team that no deployment occurred. He became uncertain and overtook to avoid losing position. Stewards accepted the conflicting signals contributed to the situation yet determined a waved yellow flag remains an instruction that must be respected independently. They applied the standard penalty for overtaking under a single yellow flag.
Outcome
Post-penalty classification adjustments promoted Oscar Piastri to 13th and Perez to 14th. The result stood as the final classification for the Baku event.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/bortoleto-handed-penalty-after-yellow-flag-infringement-in-azerbaijan-gp.4IRPm8CEnPZMAjmjCeBgGI https://www.fia.com/system/files/decision-document/2026_azerbaijan_grand_prix_-_infringement_-_car_5_-_overtaking_under_yellow_flags.pdf
Related reading
- [1]Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto handed penalty after yellow flag infringement in 2026 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix (formula1). Accessed 2026-09-27.
- [2]2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Infringement - Car 5 - Overtaking under yellow flags (fia). Accessed 2026-09-27.