Pierre Gasly initially qualified 12th for the Formula 1 British Grand Prix but was handed a penalty after the session.
During the session, it was confirmed that Gasly would be under investigation for an incident of alleged impeding in Q1. Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin was forced to run off the track on his flying lap to avoid the Alpine, resulting in Stroll’s complaint.
Alpine and Gasly’s representatives went to the stewards’ hearing after the session to plead their case regarding the accusation. However, it didn’t go the Frenchman’s way as the FIA deemed he had “unnecessarily impeded” Stroll and would receive a three-place grid penalty for the next Grand Prix.
The penalty pushes Gasly from 12th to 15th, with Nico Hulkenberg, Ollie Bearman, and Carlos Sainz all moving up the order. Putting Hulkenberg in 12th.
FIA’s decision
After the hearing, the FIA released a document that stated Stroll had been on a flying lap when Gasly was on the racing line “at a slow speed” on an in lap.
It revealed that Alpine had no working radio for Gasly at the time. Which meant they could not inform him of the Canadian behind. Alpine said that they “expected another driver (Kimi Antonelli) to remain behind him rather than overtake. As he understood Antonelli not to be on a timed lap”.
However, the document continues: “Gasly remained at a slow speed on the racing line, and the evidence showed that the driver had information available to him, including the dashboard display, to appreciate Stroll was approaching on a timed lap.
“In those circumstances, the stewards determined that Gasly unnecessarily impeded Stroll and therefore imposed the standard penalty of a three grid position drop.”
The penalty means that Gasly will have to fight through the pack more than he initially thought come the Grand Prix, with a far harder battle for points ahead.
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