Formula 1

Gasly risks race ban as stewards investigate Turn 2 collision with Ocon

Published

2 months ago

02/04/2023

Gasly risks race ban as stewards investigate Turn 2 collision with Ocon

Drama ensued at the Australian Grand Prix as Alpine Formula 1 drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly collided in a chaotic two-lap restart following a controversial red flag.

The stewards have called for Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, who are both Alpine Formula 1 drivers, to appear before them after their collision at the conclusion of the Australian Grand Prix. The incident occurred after Kevin Magnussen, a Haas driver, crashed into the wall while exiting Turn 2, resulting in a controversial red flag towards the end of the race and a scheduled two-lap restart.

The two-lap restart turned out to be a chaotic affair as several incidents occurred. Carlos Sainz crashed into Fernando Alonso, who was in third place, while exiting Turn 1. Meanwhile, Pierre Gasly, who was following closely, locked up and slid across the grass. As Gasly returned to the track at Turn 2, he appeared to be unaware of Esteban Ocon’s presence on his right, resulting in a collision between the two drivers.

The collision led to the immediate elimination of both Gasly and Ocon, who were previously on course to secure two cars inside the points. Gasly had managed to stay in the top five throughout the race, closely following the Aston Martins and Sainz’s Ferrari, and had taken the restart in fifth place. Similarly, Ocon had made an impressive comeback to secure a points finish after being eliminated in Q2 on Saturday.

The stewards have requested Gasly and Ocon to appear before them to investigate whether either of the drivers was responsible for the Turn 2 collision. This situation places Gasly at a greater risk of receiving a race ban, considering he already has 10 penalty points. If he receives two more penalty points, he would reach the threshold for an automatic race ban.

Gasly’s penalty points will remain unchanged until the Emilia Grand prix at Imola in mid-May, which is when his current penalty points will expire.

Following the race, Gasly chose not to comment on the incident and provided a brief answer to the written media before leaving.

Gasly only commented on his performance during the race, stating that he did not expect to be competing with the Ferrari team and having both Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton within his sight throughout most of the race. He also mentioned feeling comfortable in the car and making progress with each race, which was positive for him. However, he chose not to comment on the incident towards the end of the race and was too disappointed to talk about it, especially when watching the other drivers finish the race.

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