The starting positions of Pierre Gasly and Max Verstappen in the sprint race of the Formula 1 Chinese GP remain unchanged following the FIA’s (International Automobile Federation) decision not to punish the French driver for an alleged incident that occurred during qualifying at the Shanghai International Circuit this Friday (13).
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Gasly, who had originally finished in seventh place, was investigated for possible interference with Verstappen at Turn 14. According to the official document released by the stewards, Verstappen’s car was on a fast lap when it encountered Gasly at the exit of Turn 14. The Red Bull Dutchman had to go around his opponent but kept his foot on the accelerator during the maneuver.
In testimony to the stewards, Gasly stated that he noticed Verstappen’s approach and chose to stay on the left edge of the track, considering it the safest alternative at that moment. Verstappen, for his part, stated that the presence of car 10 altered his ideal racing line but acknowledged that he was not effectively hindered.
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“While the Stewards considered that the driver of Car 10 could, theoretically, have adopted a different approach to the corner and remained on the right at the exit, given the admission of the driver of Car 3 that he was not unnecessarily hindered by Car 10 in this case, we determined to take no further action,” the document states.
With the “no further action” decision, the final qualifying order for the Sprint remains unchanged: Gasly remains in seventh and Verstappen starts right behind, in eighth, in the race taking place in the early hours of this Saturday (14).
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