Racing Bulls have been fined €30,000 (£25,900), two-thirds of which has been suspended, after the stewards discovered a fault on Liam Lawson’s car.
The stewards discovered the Clutch Disengagement System was not functioning on Lawson’s car after he came to a stop during the first practice session.
The CDS is a button on the car’s exterior which marshals can use to disengage the car’s clutch and allow the wheels to turn so it can be recovered quickly. The stewards revealed Racing Bulls were warned over their CDS design last year and said its failure was a “serious” matter.
The problem came to light after Lawson came to a stop during the first practice session at the Canadian Grand Prix. The stewards said the CDS fault prevented the marshals from being able to move the car and meant the session had to be red-flagged.
“The team’s engineer explained how the CDS system worked,” the stewards reported. “It was noted that the system on this car performs two roles – the one for which is it primarily intended, namely to release the clutch when the car is stopped and the engine is not working, and the other relates to the anti-stall system. In this case, a ruptured joint caused a hydraulic leak, which caused the car to stop. The CDS, when activated by the marshal, then failed to release the clutch and hence the car could not be moved.
“This is a serious matter. It resulted in the session being red-flagged. Had the system worked as intended by the regulations, the incident could have been dealt with swiftly via deployment of the Virtual Safety Car.
The stewards note the concern of the FIA Technical Delegate, over the dual purpose of the CDS on this car. The Technical Delegate advised that the team had, in 2025, been warned about the CDS system design for its cars.”
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The stewards also noted Lawson’s concerns over the marshals’ failure to operate the system on his car correctly.
“The driver noted that there were two issues of concern that he wished to draw to the attention of the stewards, namely that contrary to his instructions and common practice, the marshals attempted to push the car when it was stationary, and that the marshal who attempted to activate the CDS was trying to press a button on the on-board camera rather than the CDS button.
“This indicates to the stewards that further training in this area is required, notwithstanding the fact that the FIA distributes a very clear document addressing this action. (ref “FIA Single Seater Recovery Specifications”). We note that it is obvious that the distribution of such a document, although well detailed, probably needs supplementing with some form of practical training by the organisers.”
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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 – when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring journalist, Keith began running the site full-time in 2010, achieving a long-held ambition to dedicate his full attention to his passion for motor racing. View all posts by Keith Collantine