Gasly demands FIA discussion after "harsh" penalty

Sam Hall
Monday 31 October 2022 17:45

Pierre Gasly will seek discussions with the FIA after a raft of "harsh" penalties have left him on the brink of an F1 race ban.

The AlphaTauri driver is on 10 penalty points for the 12-month period and is potentially one penalty from being forced to sit out an event.

All of Gasly's points have been awarded since the Spanish Grand Prix in May but a run of five from the last three races has caused the Frenchman and his 2023 employers, Alpine, major headaches.

The latest sanction was dished out after Gasly was judged to have gained an advantage by leaving the track after forcing Lance Stroll off while making an overtake.

After refusing to take questions on his penalty, Gasly said: “They [the FIA] seem to be quite harsh lately.

"Last weekend, half the grid was giving too much space behind the safety car and I was penalised. This weekend, I think it was quite tight and I don’t know why I wasn’t given a message to give the position back."

Although Gasly was left confused by the lack of instructions from race control, new guidelines introduced ahead of the season place the onus on teams and drivers to judge if an advantage had been gained and to voluntarily hand back the position.

Not doing so, as is evidenced in Gasly's case, would result in a penalty. “At the end of the day, I tried my best inside the car and the last thing I want is to lose stupid penalty points and lose race time," added Gasly.

“Apparently, at the moment they are not happy with what I am doing, so I will have a discussion with them to understand exactly what I’ve got to change.”