Mercedes has avoided a penalty for failing to send its set-up sheets to the FIA before Las Vegas Grand Prix Formula 1 qualifying because it did send them - the problem was an FIA computer security issue.
The team was referred to the stewards by F1 technical delegate Jo Bauer on the basis that it "still had not submitted the set-up sheets" for both cars 12 minutes into the qualifying session. By this time, both George Russell and Kimi Antonelli had been on track for some time.
It refers to a breach of Article 40.1 of the sporting regulations, which states that "each competitor must provide the technical delegate with a suspension set-up sheet for both of their cars before each of them leaves the pitlane for the first time during the sprint qualifying session and the qualifying session".
This is because the cars enter parc ferme conditions with the set-up locked, save for certain specific and very limited adjustments that are permitted, such as to the front wing flap, once they have taken to the track in qualifying.
Mercedes was able to "demonstrate to the satisfaction of the stewards, with copies of the relevant emails, that the sheet had been emailed to the appropriate FIA department".
The stewards report added: "Due to some IT security issue it was not received in the specified time."
Russell therefore keeps his fourth place on the grid, while Antonelli was knocked out in Q1 and is due to start 17th.
One of the elements of intrigue over the set-up sheets allegedly being sent is the regulations do not specify an exact penalty for this. It ranges from reprimands and fines to grid penalties or even exclusion from qualifying.
In 2016 Williams was given an official reprimand for failing to submit complete set-up information before qualifying at the Australian GP.
This was a consequence of a change in Williams’s internal systems to produce the sheet for the first race of the season, with stewards saying that "the team made reasonable efforts to provide the sheet but due to a change in team document format failed to provide all required information by the deadline".
Alpine has also been summoned by the stewards for Franco Colapinto using a set of tyres that had been "electronically returned" after FP3, meaning they were not available to run in qualifying.
