FIA confirms double investigation after Antonelli and Gasly incidents
Kimi Antonelli qualified on the front row in Sprint qualifying, but faces an investigation.
The FIA stewards confirmed during Sprint qualifying that two post-session investigations for alleged impeding would take place, with Kimi Antonelli and Pierre Gasly to be looked at for separate potential infringements.
Mercedes driver Antonelli was accused by Lando Norris of impeding him on the pit straight in Shanghai, while Gasly was alleged by Max Verstappen to have impeded him out of the Turn 14 hairpin.
Antonelli and Gasly at risk of FIA penalty over alleged SQ2 impeding
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Since publication, a decision of no further action has been confirmed against Antonelli after testimony from himself and Norris.
During SQ2 in Shanghai, Norris was on a push lap but felt his path into the tightening loop of Turn 1 was affected by Antonelli sitting on the apex, reporting straight away over team radio: “Yeah, he blocked me.
“I was going to push that lap, but he got in my way.”
Norris backed out of his lap as a result, with Antonelli having hugged the inside line at the time.
Separately, Verstappen ran wide at the final corner on his last push lap in SQ2, but with Alpine driver Gasly having sat to the left of the track after exiting the hairpin beforehand, the four-time World Champion was concerned about his former teammate’s placing.
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After a snap of oversteer which compromised his lap, Verstappen reported: “That Alpine is just on the racing line out of the last hairpin. It’s ridiculous.”
Both Norris and Verstappen made it through to SQ3 nonetheless, with the FIA set to investigate the actions rather than the consequences.
If found culpable, Gasly and Antonelli could face a three-place grid penalty for Saturday’s Sprint in Shanghai.
Antonelli qualified second for the Sprint, with Gasly having put his Alpine seventh in the session.
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