Ott Tänak has received a 5-minute time penalty and a suspended 35 points withdrawal after ‘striking a scrutineer with the front right bumper and causing minor injuries, including bloody scratches to the left knee,’ during a tyre checking after SS7 on Friday at WRC Rally Finland.
WRC championship leader Ott Tänak has received a big 5-minute time penalty and a suspended 35 championship points withdrawal for ‘striking a scrutineer with the front right bumper and causing minor injuries’ during a tyre check after stage 7 of Rally Finland.
Tänak lost the back-end of his Hyundai in SS7, hitting a tree and causing damage to the front of the car. The Estonian managed to complete the stage but had to nurse overheating issues due to the damage.
After the stop control of SS7, Tänak had arrived at the tyre check. While one scrutineer directed Tänak to stop at a place, another scrutineer started to check the tyres. However, Tänak started to move before the checking was complete and had not been given the signal to move by the scrutineer.
The Stewards’ report said: ‘On Friday 1st August 2025, after the Stop Control of SS7 (Saarikas 2), car No. 8 [Tänak] arrived at tyre checking and stopped at the direction of a scrutineer. At that moment, the driver of car No. 8 waved his hands asking the scrutineer to move away. In the meantime, another scrutineer started checking the tyres.’
‘When the tyre scanning was almost at the end and before receiving the signal to leave, the driver accelerated abruptly, striking a scrutineer with the front right bumper and causing minor injuries, including bloody scratches to the left knee,’ the report stated.
Tänak apologises to the scrutineer
Tänak stated to the Stewards that ‘they had an accident during SS7 and the car was suffering from cooling problems. The team had requested the crew to keep the car moving to avoid the overheating.’
Tänak apologised for injuring the scrutineer and explained to the Stewards that he thought that the checks were finished. The report states: ‘Mr. Tänak tried to explain the problem to the scrutineer by using hand gestures as it was difficult to communicate. When he thought the checks were finished, he
immediately moved from his position without realising that he had hit the scrutineer.’
‘The Driver apologised to the Stewards and stated that he was not aware that the scrutineer had been injured. He stated that had he known that he had hit the scrutineer, he would have stopped immediately. Mr. Tänak also offered to apologise personally to the injured official,’ the statement reads. (Text continues after photo.)
Stewards give Tänak a 5-minute time penalty and suspended 35 points penalty
The Stewards determined that Tänak breached articles 12.2.1.i (for leaving a checking area before the instruction was given), 12.2.1.h (for not paying attention to the official and therefore causing an unsafe situation) and 12.2.1.l (misconduct). The Stewards further said: ‘In this case the reckless reaction of Mr. Tänak cannot be mitigated because they were facing overheating problems on their car, which remains under the competitor’s responsibility.’
Tänak has received a 5-minute time penalty at Rally Finland and 35 points withdrawal with suspension of sentence. The Stewards’ report reads that the suspension of sentence is subject to no further breach of the above-mentioned articles at any WRC events during the year 2025.
This means that if Tänak breaches any of the articles once again this year, he will get deducted 35 championship points. The Estonian also has to offer his apologies directly to the injured scrutineer.
Tänak dropped to P10 after hitting the tree and nursing the overheating issues. With the penalty applied, Tänak will start Saturday in P28.
Photos: Hyundai Motorsport
