Kick Sauber’s Guanyu Zhou has been handed a three-place grid drop for the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday after the Stewards deemed he impeded Max Verstappen during qualifying.
Zhou was knocked out in Q1 on Saturday, placing dead last in the timings during a wet session. However, in the final laps, he found himself on the racing line in Turn 17, ahead of a flying Verstappen, much to the championship leader’s annoyance.
In the Steward’s decision post-session, it was revealed that Zhou “stayed on the racing line through Turn 17 when Car 1 was closing in despite not going at full racing speed.
“Car 1 had to lift the throttle for a brief moment before passing 24.”
According to the decision, the Stewards acknowledged “that the team informed the driver about Car 1 being behind him, but the information given was not accurate enough.”
From the team radio, it appears Zhou was told Verstappen was in phase, rather than on a flying lap.
Despite the team’s error, the Stewards reiterated that responsibility rests with the driver, hence Zhou’s penalty.
Confusingly, the sanction won’t affect his grid position on Sunday. Having qualified in 20th, he’ll actually start the race from 19th ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, who is taking a massive 60-place engine penalty for Sunday’s race.
Zhou’s intrusion wasn’t enough to deter Verstappen, who easily got out of Q1 and topped the timing sheets at the end of Q3. However, he’ll start the race from 11th, also taking an engine penalty.
