Pierre Gasly will start from seventh place at the United States Grand Prix, despite an incident during qualifying.
During qualifying for the United States Grand Prix on Saturday, Pierre Gasly put in a strong performance, matching Alpine’s best finish this season by placing seventh.
However, his joy was tempered by an investigation by the stewards after an incident that occurred at the end of the session, during Q3. Coming out of the pits to attempt a final fast lap, Gasly found himself facing Max Verstappen in the pit lane.
The timing of Alpine’s pit exit was particularly poorly calculated. The Frenchman left his spot just as Verstappen’s Red Bull arrived at full speed. The Dutchman had to brake suddenly and maneuver to avoid contact, which almost caused a collision. This incident, described asunsafe releaseimmediately caught the attention of the commissioners, triggering an investigation.
A fine for the Alpine team
After examining the incident, the commissioners decided to summon Pierre Gasly and Max Verstappen to obtain their versions of the facts. At the end of this summons, the Alpine team was fined 5,000 euros for this outing deemed dangerous, but no penalty was imposed on Gasly himself.
The commissioners considered that the mechanic responsible for freeing the Alpine single-seater had acted hastily, without waiting for the way to be clear.
In their report, they specified: “The mechanic of car 10 released the vehicle into the path of car 1, forcing the driver of the latter to undertake a significant evasive maneuver.”
This verdict means that Gasly will be able to retain his seventh place on the starting grid for Sunday’s race.
Pierre Gasly’s reaction
Interviewed just after the incident by Canal+Pierre Gasly explained that he had not seen Verstappen arrive: “I didn’t see it coming. I was told to get out, I followed the instructions and once I got out, I realized Max was coming next to me. I reacted as soon as I I saw.”
The French driver thus showed that he had no intention of hindering his opponent, but the hasty exit orchestrated by his team almost caused an accident.
This is not the first time that pit exit incidents have created controversy in Formula 1, and this episode reminds us of the importance of precise communication between drivers and their teams, particularly in moments as crucial as qualifying. .
Ultimately, Pierre Gasly is doing well and will be able to defend his chances during the race without suffering any additional penalties.
