Sergio Perez and Brendon Hartley have both been handed 30-second time penalties for transgressing on the formation lap of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The pair shared the sixth row of the grid, with Hartley in front of Perez, but the Force India driver was judged to have passed his opponent on the formation lap.
Hartley was subsequently judged to have failed to re-establish the original start order by the first Safety Car line.
The pair, who came together at Turn 4 on the opening lap of the race, were both issued with 10-second stop/go penalties, which was converted post-race into a 30-second demotion.
“The Stewards reviewed video evidence and heard from Sergio Perez, the driver of car 11 and the team representative,” read a report.
“Car 11 overtook car 28 before turn 1 and then during the remainder of the formation lap made no noticeable effort to allow car 28 to regain his position.
“The driver of car 11 also admitted the driver of car 28 was not unduly delayed when leaving the grid to start the formation lap.
“The Stewards reviewed video evidence and heard from Brendon Hartley, the driver of car 28 and the team representative.
“Car 28 was overtaken by car 11 during the formation lap, failed to re-establish his position before the first Safety Car line and then did not enter the pits as required under Article 38.3."
Perez was not issued with penalty points, but Hartley received two for his offence.
Perez and Hartley, who came across the line in 12th and 13th – split by just 0.027s – drop to 16th and 17th as a consequence of their penalties.
