Why Théophile Naël was penalized in the main race in Melbourne

It was a frustrating scenario to say the least for the Saint-Étienne driver this Sunday morning in Melbourne. While he was leading the main race of this first weekend of Formula 3In support of the Australian Grand Prix, Théophile Naël initially managed to maintain his starting position advantage. Despite a near-perfect start from Freddie Slater, the Frenchman remained composed, keeping the Briton and his teammate Ugo Ugochukwu behind him for seven laps.

It was precisely during this seventh lap that he was overtaken by the American, who was able to lead the race alone for the remainder of the event. Suffering a rapid loss of performance, Théophile Naël quickly expressed his frustration over the radio. Was it an unoptimized setup? Excessive tire wear? The possibilities were numerous. The fact remains that the reason for his significant drop in the standings was a five-second penalty allegedly incurred for moving on the starting grid before the lights went out, when all 30 cars were stationary in their positions.

At a slow speed, it seems very difficult to observe the slightest movement from the Frenchman before the red lights go out. On the contrary, among the three leaders, the driver wearing number 1 appears to have had the least convincing start, ahead of Ugo Ugochukwu and Freddie Slater. “The stewards reviewed the video evidence and telemetry data. After a thorough review, they determined that the driver of car number 1 had made a slight movement after the third light and before the start signal.” as detailed by the FIA ​​in its official report. They note that this movement was minimal. Consequently, they impose the minimum penalty.

In 12th place, Théophile Naël has only managed to secure the two points associated with pole position on Friday morning. Unfortunately, the driver from Saint-Étienne was caught out by a safety car deployed in the closing laps, which bunched up the entire field, just as his penalty was about to be served. As things stand, Van Amerfoort Racing leaves Melbourne leading the team championship. Théophile Naël, meanwhile, sits in 11th place in the drivers' standings.

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