22/10/2017
NEWS STORY
Kevin Magnussen and Lance Stroll have both been penalised following qualifying incidents.
Magnussen, who is rapidly becoming the most unpopular driver on the grid as far as his rivals are concerned, was adjudged to have impeded Sergio Perez in Q1.
The Stewards examined multiple angles of video evidence, including CCTV not available on the broadcast, team radio calls, and heard from Kevin Magnussen, following the incident which saw Perez impeded in Turns 11, 12 and 13.
Magnussen admitted he had impeded Perez, and the Haas team admitted it had inadvertently incorrectly advised the driver that the Mexican was on an out lap. Both Magnussen and Haas apologised to Perez for the error.
As a result, the Dane drops 3 grid positions and is handed 1 penalty point, bringing his total to 8 points for the 12 month period.
"I am extremely disappointed," said Perez, "I had the pace to be at the very least P8 today, if not P7.
"My qualifying was compromised massively by Magnussen when he blocked me, I had to use an extra set of tyres which meant I went into Q3 with a single set. That hurt me a lot.
"Obviously he didn't do it on purpose," he added, "but they, him or Haas, are quite often getting it wrong, getting the information wrong. I think it's something they have to improve at."
In the other incident, which also took place in Q1, Stroll was on a slow lap, while Romain Grosjean was on a fast lap. The Canadian was changing settings under direction of his engineer and got a very late call about the Haas overtaking. Stroll immediately moved right and off the track, but Grosjean was already outside track limits and made the decision to overtake on the right, as the Williams moved right.
According to the Stewards, it was obvious Stroll was not able to see Grosjean approaching in his mirrors, and he stated he could not move to the left as Kvyat was passing him on that side.
The Stewards believed Stroll did what he could in the circumstances but nevertheless it was potentially a very dangerous situation as the speed differential between the two cars was in excess of 100 km/h at the apex of turn 19. The Stewards believe the team should have given Stroll more advance warning that Grosjean was approaching rapidly.
Like Magnussen, Stroll was demoted three grid places and given 1 penalty point, his first in the 12 month period.
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