Pierre Gasly receives a 6-place penalty and will start 10th on the grid
Very bad news for Pierre Gasly, who had achieved great performances during the qualifying sessions: he will finally start in 10th position for the race tomorrow after receiving a double penalty.
Pierre Gasly was under investigation for two controversial moves during Q1 on Saturday: a presumed obstruction on Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen. The commissioners heard from Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz, team representatives, and examined the positioning system data, videos, team radio communications, as well as onboard footage.
Pierre Gasly declared that he was aware that Carlos Sainz was behind him, but he couldn’t do anything to avoid hindering him due to the high speed difference and the close proximity of the Spanish driver’s car to Charles Leclerc’s car. However, the stewards deemed that he could have moved further to the right at the exit of turn 13.
As a result, Pierre Gasly incurs a three-place penalty. But in addition to that, there is another sanction of an additional three places for also impeding Max Verstappen in Q1 at turn 4. After listening to both drivers, the stewards concluded that Alpine did not give the appropriate warning to Pierre Gasly regarding the fast approach of the Dutch driver, indicating to him that the cars behind him were on a slow lap.
In the end, the Frenchman will therefore leave with a total of six penalty places, dropping from 4th to 10th place. Very bad news for Gasly who was satisfied with the car’s performance this Saturday, as he indicated in the press conference following the qualifications.
