Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Edition

Global Global
Formula 1 Brazilian GP

Russell gets two-place Brazilian GP grid drop for F1 qualifying incident

Mercedes Formula 1 driver George Russell and Alpine duo Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon have all received a two-place grid penalty for Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix after impeding in qualifying.

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14

Exiting the pitlane in Q1, ahead of the first flying laps of the session, Russell slowly rolled down the pit exit on the inside of the Senna Esses to create a gap to the cars in front.

Because of the narrow nature of the pit exit Russell impeded Alpine driver Gasly, who complained over the team radio about the Briton's antics.

The FIA had actually included a provision for this weekend that allowed drivers to create a gap coming out of the pits after drivers started blocking the pits last week in Mexico, but only on the condition that they stuck to the left and allowed space for cars behind to pass.

But the FIA stewards felt that Russell hadn't done so and had thereby impeded the Frenchman, and slapped him with a two-place grid penalty.

"In order to avoid situations like the ones that occurred in Mexico, the Race Director’s Event Notes for this event contained a specific clause (item 14) stipulating that it was permitted to go slow in the pit exit to create a gap before crossing the SC2 line," said the verdict.

"However, by doing so, a driver must stay as far to the left as possible to allow other drivers to pass on the right side.

"RUS was exiting the pits, preparing for an out-lap. RUS went slow to create a gap for a clear lap, but did not manage to stay completely to the left.

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB19, in the pit lane

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB19, in the pit lane

"As a result, following car(s) were not able to overtake, as intended by the Race Director’s instructions. This clearly violates the wording and the spirit of item 14 of the Race Director’s Event Notes."

The stewards found that Ocon and Gasly, who were behind Russell, had actually done the same, with Red Bull's Sergio Perez the driver who was impeded.
Both Alpine drivers were therefore also handed a two-place grid penalty for the same offence, which drops Ocon and Gasly to 14th and 15th respectively.

Meanwhile, Russell's penalty from sixth to eighth, after a chaotic Q3 qualifying segment in which most of the 10 contenders felt they had a chance to qualify on the front row.

Read Also:

At the start of Q3 Russell was well positioned in the pitlane in fourth as the onset of heavy rain and strong winds put drivers under pressure to nail their first flying lap.

But because of a too conservative out-lap, Russell's tyres and those of team-mate Lewis Hamilton weren't in the right window for what turned out to be the only flyer.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen took pole ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, while Aston Martin duo Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso kept the Mercedes pair off the second row.

McLaren's Lando Norris and the second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz are the two benefactors of Russell's grip drop, moving up to sixth and seventh respectively.

Revised 2023 F1 Brazilian GP starting grid

Cla Driver  Car / Engine   Time   Delay 
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'10.727  
16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'11.021 0.294
18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'11.344 0.617
14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'11.387 0.660
44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'11.469 0.742
4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1'11.987 1.260
55 Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 1'11.989 1.262
63 George Russell Mercedes 1'11.590 0.863
11 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1'12.321 1.594
10  81 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes - -
11  27 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1'10.547 -0.180
12  20 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1'10.723 -0.004
13  23 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1'10.840 0.113
14  31 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1'10.562 -0.165
15  10 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1'10.567 -0.160
16  22 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 1'10.837 0.110
17  3 Daniel Ricciardo AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 1'10.843 0.116
18  77 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1'10.955 0.228
19  2 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 1'11.035 0.308
20  24 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1'11.275 0.548

Be part of Motorsport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Verstappen: Las Vegas F1 race "more for the show than the racing itself"
Next article Revised 2023 Brazilian GP F1 qualifying results: Verstappen on pole

Top Comments

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Edition

Global Global