Bottas gets three-place grid penalty for yellow flag infringement
Valtteri Bottas has been hit with a three-place grid penalty for not respecting the yellow flag during Formula 1 qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix on Saturday.
Bottas, Carlos Sainz and title contender Max Verstappen were all summoned after qualifying for improving their lap times while yellow flags were out at the end of Q3 in Losail.
Double-waved yellow flags were shown after Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri car stopped on the start/finish straight after he sustained damage while running wide over the kerb at Turn 15.
Verstappen passed the double-waved yellows, but it was reduced to a single-waved yellow by the time both Bottas and Sainz passed the zone.
The stewards met with all three drivers on Sunday afternoon ahead of the race, and announced that Bottas would be serving a three-place grid drop, with Verstappen going back five places.
It means Bottas drops from P3 to P5, with Verstappen down to P7 as he was hit with a bigger penalty for passing double-waved yellows. Sainz did not receive a penalty.
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