Sainz gets grid drop for Q1 block Gasly felt he should have been banned for
Sainz qualified eighth but will now drop three positions to 11th on the grid for Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix.
Gasly was impeded by Sainz at the final chicane which forced the Alpine driver to take to the run-off area in order to avoid a collision.
The incident ruined Gasly’s lap and also compromised the start of his next time lap, leading to his Q1 elimination in 17th place.
After qualifying, Sainz was summoned to see the stewards, who determined the Spaniard was “predominantly to blame” and “unnecessarily impeded” Gasly.
“The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 55 (Carlos Sainz), the driver of Car 10 (Pierre Gasly), team representatives and reviewed positioning/marshalling systemdata, video, timing, and in-car video evidence,” they said.
“The driver of Car 55 stated that he was surprised that the driver of Car 22 overtook him into Turn 13 and as a result he accelerated late to start his fast lap.
“The driver of Car 10 stated that the driver of Car 55 could have and should have “gone earlier”.
“Telemetry showed a significant speed differential between Cars 55 and 10.
“Although the overtaking move by Car 22 took the driver of Car 55 by surprise, it is our determination that the driver of Car 55 was predominantly to blame and unnecessarily impeded Car 10.”
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