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ART Grand Prix drivers George Russell and Jack Aitken believe limiter faults were to blame for their pitlane speed infringements during last weekend's Silverstone Formula 2 feature race.

Both drivers were penalised five seconds after their feature race stops on Saturday for speeding at the pitlane exit.

But having analysed their cars' data, the pair believe their limiters played a role in their offences, the penalty for which cost Aitken the chance of scoring a point.

"The F2 technical department are doing a huge job to improve the limiter of the car for the starts, the upshifts and the downshifts," said Mercedes Formula 1 junior Russell.

"But it has a consequent effect on the pitlane speed limiter.

"It seems like after the pull-away [from the bit box] the speed goes over 60, before returning to the speed limit.

"Because we are in the last box in the pitlane, we keep accelerating as we exit the pitlane, and we don't have the opportunity [enough distance] to return to normal [legal pitlane speed].

"We believe the other team's speeds return to normal before the pit exit and it looks like that's why they haven't been penalised."

Renault junior Aitken added: "We're the last pitbox [before the exit of the pits], we got caught by the gun at pit exit.

"Whereas the other teams are overshooting [the 60kph limit], then they come back and stabilise and that's what's done me and George."

Autosport understands other teams have noticed the same issue when revisiting race data.

Formula 2 refused to comment on the matter.

Russell's race was relatively unaffected by the penalty, as a wheelgun broke during his stop, delaying his front-left wheel change and dropping him from first to second behind eventual winner Alexander Albon.

But Aitken's penalty, combined with another for a virtual safety car infringement, cost him eighth on the road, which would have given him the reversed-grid pole position for Sunday's sprint race.

"The VSC was quite frustrating," explained Aitken.

"I was in a part of the lap where the reference lap time is very slow, it was actually green [within the delta time] when the VSC was ending but from those five seconds where I was sorting myself out I was much higher than the reference speed.

"I slammed on the brakes and was crawling trying to get it down, but I was still a second over when it went green."