Racing driver fined for wearing the wrong underpants

Formula E driver and reigning world champion Lucas di Grassi has been on the receiving end of one of the strangest racing penalties ever seen.

Following his drive to second place at the recent Punta del Este ePrix in Uruguay, the Audi Sport team driver was called before the stewards and punished for wearing the wrong underpants.

See also: Mercedes ditches DTM series to race in Formula E

See also: Guide to the 2018 Formula One cars

In most high level racing series, all of the clothing items a driver wears in his car have to meet certain strict regulations. Generally this centres on their fire resistance so that, in case there is an incident where the car bursts into flames, the driver has enough time to escape the car before suffering any burns to their skin. This doesn't just cover the driver's overalls, but anything they may wear, right down to their unmentionables.

The rather warm conditions over the course of the race weekend had made di Grassi rather sweaty. His time in the vehicle had resulted in a load of saturated undergarments and rather than pull on a wet pair for the 37-lap race, he opted for a nice, dry pair of unsanctioned pants.

Although it's not clear how the underwear came to the attention of the stewards, he was nevertheless found to be in breach of Formula E's international sporting code after the race. The stewards fined him €10,000 (£8,750) but allowed him to keep his finishing position.

To add insult to injury, as it was a breach of safety regulations, di Grassi also had three penalty points added to his race licence.

By Andrew Evans