Helio Castroneves put on probation for sister's Indy-critical tweet

Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves has learned an important lesson about not sharing his Twitter account, even with family. Following the Grand Prix of Long Beach, where Castroneves finished 11th, a tweet appeared under his account and was later deleted that said: "Indycar officials continuing not punishing some drivers and giving green flag during an accident." It also included an image of a thumbs down over the IndyCar Series logo. It has been preserved online.

Later that day, Castroneves posted two further tweets apologizing for the remark. He said that he didn't write it or agree with it, and that his sister, Kati, was using his Twitter. She wrote on her own account taking full responsibility.

So what's the big deal? Castroneves apologized, and his sister owned up to the mistake. However, the IndyCar Series organizers didn't see it so cleanly. They put the driver on probation until June 30 for violating the sport's social media policy. Castroneves can still race, but he is under higher scrutiny for the time being. He can also appeal the ruling. You can read IndyCar's very brief statement on the probation below.