Ocon and Gasly penalized with a 2-place grid drop in Brazil
Originally 12th and 13th on the grid, the two Alpine drivers were penalized by the FIA for going too slowly in the pit lane exit.
Despite several celebrations of this legendary place that is Interlagos, the offerings of the French have not borne fruit. After a mediocre qualifying session, both Alpine drivers could not do better than the 12th and 13th best times, with Esteban Ocon prevailing. Despite being reputed as a car comfortable in slow and twisty corners, the A523 is sorely lacking competitiveness in Sao Paulo.
The task for the two Normans to climb back up in the points is going to be even more complicated than expected. After George Russell’s penalty, now it’s the turn of the two Alpine drivers to be reprimanded. It is being reproached to Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly for going too slowly in the pit lane exit. With the introduction of the minimum time limit to respect at Monza, the FIA has continued to add more rules to prevent drivers from going too slowly in their warm-up laps. Therefore, in Brazil, it was forbidden to stop in the pit lane or to go below the speed limit. Drivers only have the area between the exit light and the safety line (at the exit of turn 3) to create a gap.
Ocon and Gasly took advantage of this new rule and were penalized with a 2-place penalty on Sunday’s starting grid. Therefore, they will start respectively in 14th and 15th position. The two drivers who benefit from these penalties are Kevin Magnussen and Alexander Albon.
