F1 team issue official statement as star driver set for Canadian GP demotion

Alpine F1 team have issued an official team statement confirming that Pierre Gasly will start the Canadian Grand Prix from the pit-lane.

Gasly endured a torrid qualifying session in Montreal and was due to start P19 on the grid for lights out.

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Only Red Bull star Yuki Tsunoda was set to start further back then the Frenchman, but a 10-place penalty ensured that the Japanese racer was sent to the back of the grid.

However, Alpine have now admitted that late changes to the car will see Gasly start even further behind the rest of the field.

"Pierre will start today's Canadian Grand Prix from the pit-lane after the team took his car out of parc ferme conditions," an official statement from the team read.

Parc ferme, which literally means 'closed park' in French, is a designated time when cars can no longer be modified beyond certain parameters during a race weekend.

Therefore with Alpine making late changes to Gasly's car, they knew that this would incur a pit-lane start for the French driver – something that will shortly be confirmed in an official ruling from the stewards.

However, it could well prove to be a prudent decision from the team given that Gasly was due to start the race down in P19, therefore only promoting Yuki Tsunoda ahead of him.

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