Canadian GP grid changes as F1 stewards give out four penalties after qualifying

17 June 2023 , 22:50

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Qualifying in Montreal was rain-soaked and full of incident (Image: AP)

Carlos Sainz has been slapped with a grid penalty for the Canadian Grand Prix after a scary near-miss with Pierre Gasly.

The Spaniard landed himself in hot water with the Formula 1 stewards during qualifying on Saturday. It was towards the end of Q1 when the incident occurred, as he prepared for his final flying lap.

Sainz was dawdling heading into the final chicane with Yuki Tsunoda to his right. But Gasly was coming in hot to his left, also keen to start one more lap, and had to drive off the track as he swerved to narrowly avoid hitting the Ferrari.

It hindered Gasly at the start of that final lap and meant he only went 17th fastest and out of the session. It was clear to see how angry he was as he shook his right fist in the air and slapped his helmet several times with his left hand.

"Should be banned for such a thing! I'm coming at 300kph! What the f*** do they think?!" yelled the Frenchman over the radio after swerving to avoid the crash. Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer was slightly more composed but branded the incident as "ridiculous" and "terrible".

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The race director wasted little time before referring the incident to the stewards. And, minutes after the end of qualifying, Sainz was called to the FIA offices to explain himself.

After considering the case, the stewards handed Sainz a three-place grid penalty for impeding Gasly. As a result he will start the race 11th on the grid, bumping up Oscar Piastri, Alex Albon and team-mate Charles Leclerc.

Hulkenberg's penalty means his P2 grid slot has been taken away from him (Getty Images)

That was far from the only case the stewards were considering. Tsunoda avoided punishment for allegedly impeding Leclerc, but the Japanese racer was given a penalty for another incident which affected Nico Hulkenberg.

For that, he was given a three-place grid drop. And Lance Stroll was given the same punishment for getting in the way of Esteban Ocon in Q2.

And, finally, there was a change in the first few rows as Hulkenberg, who had qualified second, was penalised for failing to slow enough during a red flag. He was dropped three places, bumping Fernando Alonso up to second on the grid and both Mercedes drivers up a place, Lewis Hamilton now starting third with George Russell fourth.

Daniel Moxon