Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, Mark Webber and Jaime Alguersuari all escaped with reprimands for not slowing down under yellows in Spain.
Hamilton, Button and Webber finished second, third and fourth respectively but in the aftermath of Sunday's race it emerged that the trio as well as Alguersuari were to be investigated for failing to slow down when the yellow flags were waved following Heikki Kovalainen's crash.
Given that Hamilton, Button and Webber were over 50s clear of fifth-placed Fernando Alonso, who was in fact lapped, penalising them with 20-second drive-through penalties would not have made any difference to the race result.
It also would have made no difference to Alguersuari, who finished P16 and well clear of his nearest rival Rubens Barrichello.
"They felt a reprimand was appropriate," said McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh.
"I think they took a sensible view, we have to make sure we stay out of trouble. It was in a part of the race where they weren't on throttle."
