A Controversial Penalty and the Frustration of a Veteran Driver
Cadillac driver Sebastien Bourdais has voiced strong criticism over the stewards’ decision to penalize his teammate Jenson Button during the World Endurance Championship (WEC) finale in Bahrain. The incident, which occurred in the fourth hour of the Bahrain 8 Hours, saw Button receive a 30-second stop/go penalty for causing a collision with the #54 Ferrari 296 GT3 driven by Thomas Flohr.
Button, who was competing in what would be his final professional race, was battling for 16th position against the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 of Sheldon van der Linde when they approached the Ferrari of gentleman driver Flohr in Turn 3. While van der Linde took the inside line, Button attempted to go around the Swiss billionaire, aiming to gain a lap on the LMGT3 contender. However, as they exited the right-hander, the two cars made contact, sending the Ferrari into the barriers and triggering the first safety car of the race.
The stewards determined that Button was “wholly responsible” for the incident, and the penalty left the #38 Jota Cadillac V-Series.R, shared by Bourdais, Button, and Earl Bamber, two laps down in 16th place. This outcome sparked frustration from Bourdais, who argued that the decision reflects a broader pattern of prototypes being unfairly penalized for incidents involving LMGT3 cars.
A Critique of the Stewards’ Decision
Bourdais, a four-time Champ Car title winner, expressed his disappointment with the ruling. He claimed that the entire paddock, including 75% of the drivers, would likely believe the GT car was at fault. “They have cameras, they have every way possible to see what’s going on behind them,” he said. “The guy overreacts to the BMW that’s poking his nose to the right and makes contact with the back of JB’s car to his front. How is that the prototype’s fault?”
He questioned the logic behind the decision, stating, “What was he supposed to do? When he has to go to the outside, there is no room on the right. So where is he supposed to go?” Bourdais urged the stewards to provide a clear argument if they believed the prototype was at fault. “If you have a solid argument, then I understand. But otherwise, I’m sorry. It’s just a racing incident and we’re just lucky we didn’t get taken out.”
He added, “Unfortunately, this is never the way they go about it. When there’s a crash like this, someone has to be guilty—and it’s always the prototype. I’m just tired of it.” Bourdais also criticized the severity of the penalty, noting that a 30-second stop/go penalty effectively ended any chance of recovery for the Cadillac team. “It’s frustrating,” he said. “Unfortunately, it’s not even a drive-through or 10-second penalty. So we got that minute lost. So then, I don’t even know why they let you finish the race. Because they might as well park you at that point. You’re done.”
Strategic Mistakes and Missed Opportunities
In addition to the penalty, Bourdais pointed to strategic errors that contributed to Cadillac’s poor performance in the early stages of the race. He admitted that the team made the wrong call on fuel strategy, opting to go short instead of long. “We had saved fuel and we should have gone long,” he explained. “The engineers overreacted a little bit to the traffic situation and the BMW and instead of going long, we went short.”
This decision led to further complications, as the team found themselves unable to maintain pace. “We couldn’t run away. That was a big mistake. Then you miss the train, you start to drop time. We lost tyre temp, we lost space and then you’re not in the right place in the race anymore, and you’re not fighting.”
Bourdais also noted that the team was hoping for a safety car to regain some ground, but instead, the safety car was triggered by their own actions. “We were praying for a safety car and unfortunately, the safety car was [caused by] us.”
Full Stewards Verdict
According to the stewards’ full verdict: “Having reviewed the video evidence, the stewards determined that Cars 38 and 20 were following Car 54 when approaching Turn 3. Car 20 attempted to overtake on the right-hand side, while Car 38 moved to the outside. Car 54 remained in the middle, maintaining its racing line without any erratic change of direction. At the exit of Turn 3, the rear of Car 38 made contact with the front of Car 54 at high speed, causing Car 54 to spin and crash into the barriers.”
“Considering the matter extensively, the stewards concluded that Car 38 was wholly responsible for the incident, as Car 54 had acted correctly throughout. The Stewards therefore decided to impose a 30-second stop-and-go penalty on Car 38.”
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