Lewis Hamilton grid position changes at Spanish GP after penalty decision
Lewis Hamilton qualified fifth behind Pierre Gasly for the Spanish Grand Prix but the Alpine star has landed himself in hot water with the FIA.
Lewis Hamilton has been handed a major boost ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix after the Mercedes star could only qualify fifth at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The Briton was some way adrift of polesitter Max Verstappen after the Red Bull star dominated qualifying again, but the seven-time champion will at least climb above Pierre Gasly after the Alpine driver was demoted to 10th following a double penalty from the FIA.
The 38-year-old's pace had been impressive throughout the session on Saturday as he stayed within a few tenths of Verstappen near the top of the timing sheets. However, he was unable to put together a flawless lap on his second run and fell to fifth.
Hamilton was set to start behind Verstappen, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris and Gasly on the grid as a result. But Gasly was handed a double punishment after the FIA found the Frenchman to have been guilty of two breaches of the sporting regulations.
The race stewards investigated Gasly after the session had concluded as footage appeared to show the Alpine driver impeding both Verstappen and Sainz in separate incidents.
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And with it, Gasly was handed two three-place grid drops to serve "at the next race", demoting him from his hard-earned fourth place to 10th for Sunday's race in Montmelo.
Gasly had tried to argue that he couldn't avoid getting in Sainz's way as he had already moved aside for Charles Leclerc, but the stewards refused to accept his explanation, report RaceFans.
With Gasly's double penalty, it means Hamilton will start fourth on the grid and move up to the second row, with a decent chance of catching Sainz and Norris going into the first corner. Lance Stroll, Esteban Ocon, Nico Hulkenberg, Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri will all gain a place as Gasly drops to 10th.
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The Frenchman was left disappointed after dropping into midfield and insisted he had been left hard done by due to the nature of traffic in Q2.
“It’s a real pity we will not start from the second row tomorrow after the penalty for impeding,” he said. “I think it was very unfortunate with the traffic, cars so close together and the high-speed final corners.
"We have to accept it, move on and keep our heads down for tomorrow where I know we can still have a strong race.”