Mercedes, Renault Handed $50,000 Fines for Pit Lane Incidents

The International Automobile Federation (FIA) recorded a serious funds increase in recent grands prix, as it has raised a minimum of $200,000 following the German and Hungarian races. If the $100,000 fine to Ferrari for their alleged team orders at Hockenheim is a well known fact, the other $100,000 were raised from Renault and Mercedes GP in Hungary.

The safety car on Lap 18 of the Sunday race triggered several pit lane incidents, as the majority of the racers stopped by the pits to complete their first and only tire change of the day. It was then that Nico Rosberg's car lost its rear right hand tire, which traveled on its own down the pit lane and hit a Williams-Cosworth mechanic before stalling.

Fortunately for the Williams mechanic and truck driver, it all ended with only a broken rib. For Mercedes GP however, the incident resulted into a $50,000 penalty for the unsafe release of their driver Nico Rosberg, who left the pits with a loose wheel nut.

The German team was not the only one penalized on Sunday, as Renault were also handed a $50,000 fine for the unsafe release of their driver Robert Kubica. After completing his tire change, the Polish driver was released back into the pit lane, but that happened at the same time when Force India's Adrian Sutil was trying to make his own pit stop.

The German driver crashed his car into Kubica's when trying to enter his pit space, and the damage sustained by his VJM03 prevented him from continuing the race. Kubica was eventually able to continue the Sunday action, only to retire 8 laps later due to accident damage. Before the FIA fined Renault, the Pole had also been subject to a 10-second stop-and-go penalty from the race stewards.