Pierre Gasly has escaped moving closer to a Formula 1 race ban at the Brazilian Grand Prix after receiving only a warning for driving too slowly on the reconnaissance laps to the sprint race grid.
The AlphaTauri driver headed into the Interlagos weekend on 10 penalty points, just two shy of the 12 that would trigger an automatic F1 race ban.
Gasly was summoned after the race for allegedly driving too slowly on his reconnaissance lap and the stewards found him guilty.
But the stewards also accepted there were mitigating circumstances involved and handed Gasly a warning – which is within the usual precedents for such situations – rather than a sporting penalty or licence points.
“The stewards took into account that there were people on the grid just after SC line 1, however the driver is responsible for driving the required speed during the entire lap,” the stewards’ document read.
“The race director’s note to teams specified a maximum time of 1m12.0s between the safety car lines and car 10 [Gasly] recorded a time of 1m14.185s.”
Gasly has accumulated 10 penalty points in the last 12 months for six separate incidents: causing two different collisions, speeding under a red flag, leaving the track and taking Lance Stroll with him, multiple track limits abuse in a single race and falling too far back behind the safety car.
He’s called the prospect of being on the verge of an F1 race ban “embarrassing” and believes he doesn’t deserve to be banned.
Gasly is speaking with the FIA in the hope changes to the system will be made for 2023 – the first two of his 10 penalty points won’t expire until next May.
Grand Prix Drivers’ Association director George Russell and fellow drivers including Valtteri Bottas and Alex Albon support Gasly’s plea and Russell believes an “exemption” should be made for Gasly if he reaches 12 penalty points.
