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Formula 1 Singapore GP

Gasly: FIA’s F1 penalty stance isn’t “black and white”

Pierre Gasly says that the FIA’s stance on Formula 1 penalties is not “black and white” after Kevin Magnussen escaped punishment following the pair's fraught battle during the Singapore GP.

Pierre Gasly, Alpine A523

Gasly accused Magnussen of pushing him off the track and compared the Haas driver’s escape from any sanction with the reprimands that Max Verstappen received for two impeding incidents in qualifying.

Those verdicts came as a surprise to drivers and teams who are used to seeing grid penalties for such offences and led to questions about the consistency of stewards’ decisions.

Gasly, who faced a string of penalties in 2022 and at one stage was close to receiving a race ban, has questioned stewards’ decisions in the past.

“I just asked if he can push someone off the race track when I’m going to pass him, I’m going to give him a little nudge and do the same,” he said of his fight with Magnussen. “I’m not going to open the topic – it’s just, make it black and white.

“I was pretty surprised [after qualifying] and again on Sunday. I don’t fully understand the regulation. I read the regulations, I know the regulations, but then it doesn’t always translate to what happens on the track.

“But to be fair, it didn’t change my race. I got the best out of it so it was fine but a couple of times it’s just unfair to me.”

He added: “It might be the way I look at things, I don’t know. I’ll have a discussion [with the FIA] because to me it’s just, I don’t fully understand.

Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-23, Nico Hulkenberg, Haas VF-23, Pierre Gasly, Alpine A523

Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-23, Nico Hulkenberg, Haas VF-23, Pierre Gasly, Alpine A523

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

“I’m not going to question more etcetera, but I’ve had tough decisions against me, with a six place penalty in Barcelona this year for impeding, and it was definitely way less than what I’ve seen yesterday. Maybe now this is allowed. I don’t know, I’ll ask.”

Regarding Magnussen’s feisty driving, he noted: “He said it before the race, I think he said 'I’m not going to make anyone’s life easy', and clearly he took his words as they were.

“I knew he was going to take it on the limit. It was once or twice slightly over but at the end, I finished P6, so I don’t really care.”

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Despite his concerns over the decision-making of the stewards', Gasly was pleased with Alpine's on-track recovery from a torrid Italian Grand Prix, although a gearbox failure cost Esteban Ocon valuable points.

“We had such a tough Monza,” he said. “We knew why, we knew the track layout didn’t favour us, but it was important just to get some sort of performance and prove it to ourselves. So this is what happened.

“I think both cars should have been sixth and seventh, it’s a shame for Esteban and lose a car and some important points. But definitely sure on Sundays we have got the potential to be right there, and that was positive.”

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