FIA Confirms No Penalty for Perez After Austrian GP Investigation

Sergio Perez has avoided a five-second penalty for moving on the grid before the start signal at the Austrian Grand Prix, with FIA stewards ruling that the sanction could not be applied after his retirement from the race. The decision follows a disastrous Sunday for Cadillac, as both Perez and teammate Valtteri Bottas were forced out with brake failures despite the team introducing a major upgrade package at the Red Bull Ring.

Why it matters:

The ruling highlights a procedural nuance where penalties for pre-start infringements do not convert into grid drops for the next event if unserved, meaning Perez's DNF effectively shielded him from punishment. More broadly, Cadillac's double retirement underscores persistent reliability headaches that continue to undermine the new constructor's efforts to build momentum in its debut season.

The details:

• Perez was investigated for moving before the start signal, a breach that typically carries a mandatory five-second time penalty.
• The stewards concluded that because the Mexican had already retired by the time the incident was reviewed, imposing a time penalty would serve no competitive purpose.
• Cadillac endured a double DNF in Spielberg, with Bottas stopping after two laps due to a brake fire and Perez dropping out shortly afterward with similar issues.
• The team previously suffered brake troubles in Monaco, where Perez lost a points finish due to a separate start infringement penalty.
• Speaking after the race, Perez said the team underestimated traffic effects and described the weekend as taking "four or five steps backwards," calling the outcome unacceptable despite the upgrades.

What's next:

Cadillac faces a race against time to solve its persistent brake problems before the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Perez remains optimistic that the data gathered from the upgrade package will yield a significant reliability improvement, but the team must demonstrate tangible progress soon to ease growing frustration within the garage.