Meguetounif and five other drivers penalized for both races in Australia

The season of Formula 2 hasn't even started yet Heavy penalties were already announced this Thursday morningThree teams are affected: DAMS, Rodin Motorsport and Trident. This decision comes after irregularities were noted by the stewards of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) during pre-season testing held at the end of February in Barcelona (Spain).

The decision, taken at the first meeting of the 2025 season by the FIA ​​Stewards in accordance with Article 11.9.2b of the ISC (International Sporting Code), comes after these three teams were found guilty of breaching Article 10.2a of the FIA ​​Sporting Regulations as well as Article 1.5.2, Article 8.4.10 and Article 8.4.11 of the FIA ​​Formula 2 Technical Regulations.

Cars 11, 16, 17 and 23 were found to have an air pressure sensor installed by drilling holes in the diffuser to channel the airflow under it to the pressure sensor duct, modifying a standard part in the process. In addition to the €10 fine for each team, the stewards ruled that " that due to the collection of data that could theoretically be applied and used as an advantage (…), both cars of the teams involved will serve 10-place grid penalties for both races of the Melbourne event. »

These penalties concern Jak Crawford, Kush Maini (DAMS), Amaury Cordeel, Alexander Dunne (Rodin Motorsport), as well as the Frenchman Sami Meguetounif and his teammate Max Esterson (Trident).

Another penalty will also be applied during the Bahrain season's scheduled testing: the teams concerned will be limited to two days of testing (instead of three), with the championship promoter determining the day on which these teams will not be able to run. Finally, other teams will be allowed to use similar sensors during these Bahrain tests, which will not be the case for DAMS, Rodin Motorsport and Trident.

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