F1 Barcelona, five by the commissioners
Qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix will have a short aftermath for several drivers. A quarter of the starting gridIndeed, will speak to the commissioners to report their version on three different episodes that took place in the fight for pole position at Montmeló: they are George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz and Pierre Gasly.
The episodes under analysis
The stewards’ attention was drawn to the contact between the two Mercedes drivers in the final phase of Q2, which occurred at over 300 km/h and caused Hamilton’s front wing to break, and the two alleged impeding by Gasly on Sainz and Verstappen.
Who risks
The rider who risks a more afflictive penalty is definitely Gasly. The Alpine Frenchman certainly bears responsibility for having slowed down two riders in Q2 in their fast laps: if Charles Leclerc was punished with three positions on the starting grid just seven days ago for a impeding on Lando Norris under the Monte-Carlo tunnel, we don’t see why Gasly shouldn’t suffer at least the same punishment (if not a doubled penalty, considering he committed the same offense twice).
Less probable is a penalty for Russell, who closed Hamilton on the straight to avoid contact with a Ferrari: it could have been a very dangerous accident and this could count in the stewards’ assessment. For a similar dynamic, in Melbourne, the two Alpine drivers were pardoned on the last restart, and it is clear that Hamilton would not be in the team’s interest by overplaying his teammate’s manoeuvre.
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