Several drivers handed post Spa-Francorchamps penalties

Following the conclusion of Friday’s Spa-Francorchamps Qualifying session, several drivers have been penalised.

Firstly, Noah Stromsted has been given a five-place grid penalty for causing a collision.

During the final part of Qualifying while on a warmup lap, Stromsted and Yevan David collided ahead of Turn 14, causing both cars to stop on track with damage.

After the session, the Stewards spoke to both drivers and their team representatives and also examined video evidence before determining that despite the actions of other drivers around them at the time of the collision, Stromsted as the trailing car had been predominantly at fault for the incident.

As a result, Stromsted has been handed a five-place grid penalty for both the Sprint and Feature Race.

In addition to that, Campos Racing’s Théophile Nael, ART Grand Prix driver Taito Kato, PREMA Racing duo Louis Sharp and James Wharton, Hitech’s Jin Nakamura as well as DAMS Lucas Oil driver Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi have been penalised for driving unnecessarily slowly on the racing line.

The Stewards looked over GPS and video evidence before determining that all the aforementioned drivers had driven slowly on the racing line during their preparation laps, directly leading to the collision that prematurely ended qualifying.

As a result, they have assigned a three-place grid drop to each of those drivers apart from Nael, who has been given a five-place grid penalty.

The Stewards noted that the Campos driver was the first car in the group. As the lead car in the field at the time of the incident, his actions affected all the following cars and factored into many related breaches by multiple other drivers which led to the collision that prematurely ended qualifying. Therefore, Nael’s penalty is enhanced compared to those of other drivers.

Furthermore, Campos Racing driver Ugo Ugochukwu and DAMS Lucas Oil’s Gerrard Xie have also been penalised for driving unnecessarily slow on the racing line as well as for leaving the track without justifiable cause and gaining a position in the queue.

After looking through the GPS and video evidence, the Stewards gave both drivers two separate three-place grid penalties for both races.

Lastly, Van Amersfoort Racing’s Bruno del Pino and PREMA Racing’s José Garfias have also been given a three-place grid penalty for weaving.

After the session, the Stewards reviewed video and GPS data and found that both drivers had been weaving during their preparation laps, and this constituted erratic driving, with them both doing so in tight quarters with other cars on circuit.

As a result, the Stewards gave both Del Pino and Garfias a three-place grid penalty. They will serve the penalties in both the Sprint and Feature Races at Round 6.