Formula 1 saw Racing Bulls punished by the FIA after the incident involving Liam Lawson in the TL1 of the 2026 Canadian GP. The team received a fine of 30 thousand euros, with 20 thousand suspended, after a failure in the car’s system caused a red flag in the session in Montreal.
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Lawson stopped the VCARB 03 after reporting loss of power steering in the first session of the weekend. The car was stopped after the second chicane of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and, initially, the race direction activated the Virtual Safety Car before stopping the session with a red flag.
The FIA investigation pointed out that the CDS, the system responsible for clutch disengagement to remove the car, did not work as expected according to the regulations. According to the stewards, the failure prevented the marshals from quickly moving Lawson’s car, something that would have avoided the complete stoppage of the session.
The official document classified the case as serious and highlighted that Racing Bulls had already been warned in 2025 about the CDS concept used in their cars. “If the system had worked as expected by the regulations, the incident could have been resolved quickly just with the Virtual Safety Car,” stated the FIA.
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Besides the financial penalty, the problem had a direct impact on the rest of the team’s day. Lawson’s car was not ready in time for the Sprint Qualifying, leaving the New Zealander out of the competition in Montreal.
The FIA also acknowledged problems in the marshals’ procedure during the car recovery. According to Lawson, one of the stewards tried to press the onboard camera button instead of the correct CDS button. The entity stated that this highlights the need for more practical training for the marshals, even with the existence of technical documents detailing the proper procedure.
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