FIA confirms British Grand Prix grid penalty after qualifying incident
The FIA has handed out a penalty
Alpine driver Pierre Gasly has been hit with a three-place grid penalty for the British Grand Prix after impeding Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll in qualifying at Silverstone.
Gasly was spotted travelling slowly ahead of Stroll in the closing stages of Q1 at Silverstone on Saturday.
Pierre Gasly hit with three-place grid penalty after FIA investigation
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust
Following a post-session investigation, Gasly has been found to have impeded Stroll, who was eliminated in 21st place after outpacing Aston Martin teammate Fernando Alonso in Q1.
Gasly, who originally qualified 12th at Silverstone, will now start Sunday’s race from 15th with Nico Hulkenberg, Oliver Bearman and Carlos Sainz all moving up a place on the grid.
Pierre Gasly vs Franco Colapinto: Alpine head-to-head stats for F1 2026 season
F1 2026: Head-to-head qualifying records between teammates
F1 2026: Head-to-head race statistics between teammates
The stewards’ report read: “The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 10 (Pierre Gasly), the team representatives and reviewed video, telemetry, team radio and in-car video evidence.
“STR was on a timed lap in Q1. GAS was on an in lap and, on the approach to Turn 15, remained on the racing line at a slow speed, requiring STR to move off line in order to pass.
“GAS explained that he had no functioning radio at the time, that he had been attempting radio checks and that he expected another driver (ANT), to remain behind him rather than overtake, as he understood ANT not to be on a timed lap.
“The team representative pointed out that there was no radio warning to GAS because of a technical issue with FOM equipment, which was confirmed by FOM.
“The Stewards accepted that these were unfortunate circumstances and took into account that the driver was left without the usual radio warning from the team.
“The team representative of STR also confirmed that, in his view, the circumstances were unfortunate.
“However, the absence of a radio warning does not remove the driver’s responsibility to avoid impeding another car.
“GAS remained at a slow speed on the racing line and the evidence showed that the driver had information available to him, including the dashboard display, to appreciate STR was approaching on a timed lap.
“In those circumstances, the Stewards determined that GAS unnecessarily impeded STR and therefore impose the standard penalty of a 3 grid position drop.”
Gasly has scored points at six of the eight races held so far this season, recording a best finish of third in Monaco after a successful appeal by the Alpine team.
Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.
You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!
Read next: George Russell confirms Mercedes investigation over hidden British GP problem
