Twelve warnings, no penalties issued for Mugello restart pileup

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Twelve Formula One drivers were given warnings for their part in a huge accident following a Safety Car restart at Sunday's Tuscan Grand Prix.

Kevin Magnussen, Nicholas Latifi, Carlos Sainz and Antonio Giovinazzi were involved in the accident itself, which happened at the start of lap seven following a six-lap Safety Car period for an earlier accident.

All four drivers were unharmed but were forced to retire from the race due to crash damage.

No one driver was found to be responsible for the incident, but the following drivers were issued with warnings for their part in contributing to the concertinaing of the pack ahead of the restart.

Warnings are less severe than a penalty or reprimand and do not result in any further action.

Valtteri Bottas, who was the lead car at the time, was found to have acted within the regulations as he controlled the pace of the field from the front. Under the regulations, it was his right to do so until the cars reach the control line (also known as the start/finish line) at which point racing can resume.

Kvyat, Latifi and Magnussen were summoned to the stewards to explain their part in the incident, but no penalties were issued.

The stewards did not give individual reasons for each warning, but offered the following collective explanation for the core reasons behind the incident.

"The stewards conclude that the root cause of this incident was the inconsistent application of throttle and brake, from the final corner along the pit straight, by the above drivers," the stewards' statement said. "The stewards acknowledge the challenges the location of the Control Line [start/finish line] presents at this circuit and the desire of drivers to take advantage of the restart.

"However, this incident demonstrates the need for caution to be exercised in the restart situation and note that there was an extreme concertina effect which dramatically increased as it moved down the field.

"We also note that some drivers might have avoided being involved in the incident had they not followed directly behind the car in front. By doing so they effectively blocked off all visibility of what was happening immediately in front of the preceding car.

"A warning has been imposed as it is the view of the stewards that no one driver was wholly or predominantly to blame. It was further noted that the driver of Car 77 (Valtteri Bottas) and the other drivers involved in the restart not mentioned above, complied with the regulations. Car 77 had the right under the regulations to dictate the pace."