Caterham given fine for unsafe pit release during Belgian GP

Caterham has been handed a €10,000 fine after Heikki Kovalainen was deemed to have been released in an unsafe manner after his pitstop.

“The team [Caterham] admitted to the stewards that it considered itself at fault in causing the unsafe release and apologised to HRT accordingly,” a statement read. “The stewards did not consider that any sporting advantage was gained.”

Also under investigation for pit incidents were Webber and the Red Bull team after a near-miss with the Ferrari of Felipe Massa.

“It was OK. I knew I had Felipe there,” said Webber. “I rolled out of it a little bit to let him merge back in, and then took the fast lane.”

The stewards agreed with Webber and decided not to penalise him for his pit release.

“The stewards noted the evidence that indicated the driver of car #2 [Webber] was aware of the approach of car #6 [Massa] into the pitlane and deliberately, after being released, kept to the right and momentarily lifted throttle to allow car #6 to enter its pit unimpeded, before car #2 turned out into the fast lane.”