Cadillac received a €30,000 fine after Colton Herta’s car failure during the first free practice of the Formula 1 Italian GP, held on Friday (4). Of this amount, €25,000 were suspended by the stewards.
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Herta was replacing Sergio Perez in his third TL1 of the 2026 season when he stopped at the exit of the second Lesmo, about 40 minutes before the end of the session. Although he was near a marshal post, the MAC-26 could not be removed because the clutch remained engaged. The team pointed to a hydraulic failure, and the incident led to the red flag.
The driver was called by the stewards for a possible violation of Article C9.3 of the technical regulations, which states that “all cars must be equipped with a means to disengage the clutch for a minimum of 15 minutes in case the car stops with the engine off” and that the system must be “in perfect working order throughout the Competition, even if the car’s main hydraulic, pneumatic, or electrical systems have failed.”
The hearing was postponed to Saturday morning so that Cadillac could gather more information. The team presented CDS schematics and showed that the system had been tested the day before the competition and designed to operate independently of the car’s other systems.
The problem was in one of the four lithium battery cells supplied by a third-party company. When the car’s electronic system is off, in “P0 mode,” this battery is necessary for the CDS to function. With the failure, the system became inoperative and prevented the car from being easily pushed off the track.
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Cadillac stated that it will request information from the supplier about the battery’s lifespan and adopt daily or pre-session checks, as well as a component replacement program.
The stewards considered the team transparent and evaluated the plan as reasonable, but emphasized that the responsibility for compliance with the regulations remains with Cadillac, even in the event of a third-party part failure.
This was the third reported CDS failure of the season. In Canada, Racing Bulls was fined €30,000, with €20,000 suspended for 12 months, after a similar problem involving Liam Lawson. In Monaco, McLaren received a penalty after Lando Norris’s car could not be removed during practice.
Therefore, the stewards warned that new CDS failures, the system responsible for facilitating the quick and safe removal of cars from the track, could result not only in fines but also in sporting penalties.
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