Adam Cooper F1

Williams has been fined €60,000 by the FIA for an unsafe release of Pastor Maldonado in FP2 in India.

A wheel nut came loose and rolled across the track after the Venezuelan left the pits. However the wheel – the right front – was retained, and he continued on round before finally stopping close to the pit entry.

In Suzuka Maldonado lost a wheel during practice. The FIA regarded it as a “serious safety issue,” fined the team €60,000, and ensured that modifications were made to the wheel retaining system.

This time the FIA made it clear that the penalty would have been higher had the wheel not been retained, and the stewards also noted that the problem was triggered by an accidental cross-threading.

Apart from the unsafe release they also noted that the secondary retaining plunger had failed to keep the wheel fastener in place, which is a breach of the technical regulations.

They said: “The team need to ensure that both the wheel and its fastener are fully retained on the car. The Stewards decide that a fine of €60,000 is the most appropriate penalty in this case taking into account this was the second offence, but on this occasion the wheel was retained.”

The FIA’s Ethics Committee has sided with Jean Todt over the support agreements issue – and left would-be presidential candidate David Ward struggling to find the backing with which to be formally nominated. If he doesn’t then Todt will be unopposed in the upcoming election.

Ward complained to the Ethics Committee that Todt has obtained support for his re-election campaign this year when attending regional FIA gatherings on FIA business, well in advance of the election process being set in motion.

It made it almost impossible for Ward to be nominated as he needs support from all the regions – and in the case of North America 11 of 12 members had already agreed to back Todt.

The Ethics Committee reports directly to Todt.

In a statement today Ward said: “I regret that the Committee did not respond to my protest about its composition which included a member from a club that was directly involved in the support agreement issue and clearly supportive of Mr Todt. It is very disappointing that they refused to do so even after a very senior club President had written independently to the Committee asking that its composition should be ‘uncontested and above suspicion.’

“The 2013 FIA election process is already marred by confusion over the rules and the use of support agreements. These irregularities notably concern the requirement to have the support of seven Vice Presidents for Sport. I think the Ethics Committee has failed to understand the connection between support agreements ratified by an FIA region on bloc and the huge difficulty this creates for any candidate trying to obtain Vice Presidents for their list. In my view the Ethics Committee can and should consider such issues and make recommendations for change.

“My purpose in standing has been to highlight the current flaws in the governance of the FIA. I think the current confusion over the election rules which require a change even after the contest has started proves my point. It is also regrettable that the Ethics Committee has, in my opinion, failed to address important issues about the fairness and transparency of the election process.”

Toro Rosso has confirmed that Daniil Kvyat will replace Daniel Ricciardo next season. The 19-year-old Russian will partner Jean-Eric Vergne, who will be in his third year with the team.

Kvyat is currently second in the GP3 series, and has also competed in Euro F3 this year. Red Bull has decided that he is suitably qualified despite not having competed in the Renault 3.5 series, the company’s traditional path to the top, and in choosing him has overlooked Antonio Felix da Costa and Carlos Sainz Jr, both of whom were further up the ladder.

Team boss Franz Tost said: “He impressed our team with a strong performance and very informative technical feedback at the young driver test in Silverstone. This suggests that the basic qualities from which he can progress are all in place. Daniil can be sure that we will use all our experience of training youngsters to give him the best possible start to his Formula 1 career.”

Kvyat said: “Ever since I began karting, I wanted to get to Formula 1 and now that wish will become reality next season. I had a brief taste of working with the Toro Rosso team, when I drove for them at the Silverstone test and I enjoyed the experience very much. The fact I am based in Italy and speak Italian will, I am sure, help me to become part of the team very quickly.”