Pierre Gasly has been handed a five-second post-race penalty for colliding with Sergio Pérez during the British Grand Prix, which has seen the Frenchman lose his tenth place finish at Silverstone to the Mexican.
Gasly had clipped the sausage kerb at turn sixteen and knocked into the Sahara Force India F1 Team driver that compromised the Mexican’s run through turns seventeen and eighteen, with the delay allowing the Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda driver to sneak into tenth.
The five-second penalty relegates him from that tenth to thirteenth, with Pérez now inheriting the final point ahead of Stoffel Vandoorne and Lance Stroll.
“The Stewards reviewed video evidence, heard from the driver of car 10 (Pierre Gasly), the driver of car 11 (Sergio Pérez) and the team representatives,” read the FIA statement.
“The Stewards felt that Gasly’s maneuvers were generally reasonable, and that he was attempting to make a good racing pass. Pérez left him sufficient room throughout. However, Gasly touched the sausage kerb at the apex of turn 16 which caused him to collide with Pérez.
This subsequently forced Pérez off the track on driver’s left before turn 17 and severely compromised his ability to race through turns 17 and 18, and Gasly was thus able to pass Pérez.
The Stewards determined that Gasly was wholly or predominantly to blame, and while the collision was light it led directly to the pass. Therefore the Stewards ordered a five-second penalty.”
Gasly was also handed two penalty points to his Superlicence, meaning the Frenchman now has four to his name in the past twelve months.
