F1 star hit with early FIA penalty for Qatar Grand Prix

An F1 star has been hit with an early FIA penalty ahead of this weekend's Qatar Grand Prix after causing a collision last time out in Las Vegas.

This year's Las Vegas GP got off to a chaotic start and the events of the first lap impacted the race result for more than one driver.

Championship leader Lando Norris opted for a much bolder approach than usual, attempting to cover off reigning champion Max Verstappen from pole position.

The McLaren driver does not have the best track record for strong starts from pole, and the Vegas night race was no different.

Norris attempted to cut Verstappen off instantly in the short run to Turn 1, but failed to do so and instead ran wide into the corner, handing the Dutchman the lead. Verstappen went on to win the night race in Vegas whilst Norris and his team-mate Oscar Piastri were disqualified.

Further back in the pack there was even more drama at lights out when Gabriel Bortoleto and Lance Stroll were involved in a first-corner collision.

Stroll sustained significant damage to his Aston Martin and was ruled out of the race due to the impact from Bortoleto's serious braking misjudgement.

Was Bortoleto punished for Las Vegas GP collision?

After returning to the Sauber garage to assess the damage to his own car, Bortoleto was also ruled out of the Las Vegas GP.

The FIA stewards reviewed the collision and after reviewing positioning/marshalling system data and video evidence, Bortoleto was found to be at fault for the Turn 1 incident.

As a result, the Brazilian racer was slapped with two penalty points and a drop of five grid positions for the next race in which he participates in, meaning he is set to serve the penalty at this weekend's Qatar GP.

The stewards' verdict read: "The driver of Car 5 (BOR) braked extremely late and as a result collided with Car 18 (STR). Even though this was a Lap 1 Turn 1 incident, mitigating circumstances do not exist and hence the standard 10-second penalty would have applied however as Car 5 retired, the penalty is converted into a grid penalty for the next race in which the driver participates, in accordance with our guidelines."

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