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By Nelson Espinal
Contributing Sports Reporter
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McLaren received a fine from the FIA stewards after Oscar Piastri and George Russell nearly collided in the pit lane during Free Practice 2 for the Dutch Grand Prix.
Piastri was in the pit lane when he made a slight turn to the right towards his pitbox, though he made a quick jolt back into the pit lane after some of the racing staff waved him off.
George Russell was right behind Piastri, and as the Aussie made an indecisive move, it prompted Russell to take evasive action.
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After the session, the Mercedes driver relived the incident and noted the scare he had gone through.
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"I think he pulled in a bit too early, pulled back out, so just a bit unfortunate, but it scared me a bit," Russell told reporters.
"When you're on track, you're sort of ready for anything, but when you're in the pitlane going relatively very slow, you're just chilling out. I was looking at my screen, I was like, 'oh Jesus!' – yeah, caught me by surprise."
The FIA reviewed the incident, taking into account several aspects of the near-collision, and imposed a €5,000 fine on the team.
Piastri avoided a sporting penalty cause of the team's responsibility in the incident.
"The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 81 (Oscar Piastri), team representative and reviewed video, team radio, and in-car video evidence," an FIA document read.
"Car 81 attempted to leave the fast lane and enter its pit box during a red flag period in free practice 2. As Car 81 approached the pit box, the entry was blocked by team personnel pushing a rear jack. Another team member signalled Car 81 to go around him to the next pit area, which he did.
"In doing so, he turned back briefly within the fast lane and thereafter entered the pit box. All of this resulted in Car 63 having to brake heavily and take evasive action.
"No collision was caused; however, the situation could have resulted in one. It could also have resulted in injury to one or more team personnel in the pit lane.
"The team acknowledged that the driver was not warned and also recognised that they could have managed the situation better. We agreed that the team should have taken more care in managing the entry of Car 81 into the pit box."
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