Lance Stroll has been hit with a five-place grid penalty for the Las Vegas Grand Prix after being found to have overtaken under yellow flags during FP3.
The Aston Martin driver was immediately summoned to the Stewards following the conclusion of the final practice hour, where he wound up 13th overall.
Stroll was alleged to have passed Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz under double-waved yellow flags at the conclusion of the session after Alex Albon had tagged the wall.
The Canadian told the Stewards that at that stage he had been looking at his dash and was concentrating on the Ferrari ahead of him when he missed the flags.
While the Stewards acknowledged “there were no yellow light panels displayed, the regulations are clear that the flags and light panels have the same meaning”.
Therefore, Stroll will be demoted five places on the grid from the position he qualifies in for Formula 1’s inaugural race at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit on Saturday night.
“Double yellow flags were waved at Marshal Post 12.9 as Car 18 approached that point along the straight. After passing the flags, which were clearly visible on the onboard video from Car 18, Car 18 overtook Car 55,” the Stewards’ verdict read.
“The driver of Car 18 stated he had his “head down” looking at his dash and was concentrating on the Ferrari ahead of him and missed the flags. Although there were no yellow light panels displayed, the regulations are clear that the flags and light panels have the same meaning.”
He becomes the second driver to receive a grid drop after it was confirmed earlier in the day that Sainz would be moved back 10 places to take on a third Energy Store.
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