Gasly wants clarification from FIA in Hungary: 'It feels unfair'
F1 News
Pierre Gasly will seek an explanation from the FIA over an incident with Lance Stroll at the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend. The Canadian tried to overtake Gasly with his Aston Martin during the British Grand Prix, went way off track, but then did not return the spot. Race organisers did not intervene, much to the Frenchman's displeasure.
"If you go off the racetrack you've got to give the position back," the Alpine driver told GPblog and others. "Just as simple as that. If you try and you see you've been off the racetrack, just give the position back. That's how I've been taught racing by the FIA. I've paid the price in different situations. It's just not fair not having that consistency. Now next race I'm supposing that going off the line, off the racetrack, overtaking someone is allowed. And then all of a sudden you're going to end up with a five second penalty. I just can't understand. It just doesn't seem fair."
Gasly visits stewards
So Gasly wants clarification. The stewards can expect a visit from the Frenchman at the Hungaroring. "Yeah, because you need, it's got to be crystal clear. We're racing at 350 kph at the moment, which, you know, different situations. Last week we got penalized for stuff where we feel like we're not getting the warning properly. And this situation for me, as soon as I saw him going off the racetrack, I was like, he'll give the position back. And I spent three laps behind him, losing time in his gearbox where I should not be there. So, yeah, just asking for consistency. If that's a lot, fine. But it's got to be a lot for everyone."
Gasly felt anyway that Stroll could have given him a bit more space, "but that's racing". Later, Stroll did receive a penalty, by the way, when he hit Gasly again. That cost the Frenchman his rear suspension and thus his Grand Prix was over. Teammate Esteban Ocon also had to retire, making the race at Silverstone a nightmare for Alpine.