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Gasly receives FIA outcome for unsafe release in China Sprint

Photo: Race Pictures

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06:40, 14 Mar

Updated: 06:48, 14 Mar

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byHenry Eccles

Alpine have been fined €5,000 by the FIA stewards for an unsafe release prior to the Chinese GP Sprint Race.

The Frenchman finished P11 in the Sprint, a disappointing result given his P7 start, and things have just got a little worse for the Alpine driver.

Alpine receive fine for Gasly unsafe release

Photo: Race Pictures

According to FIA documents, Gasly left the Alpine garage with an antenna shield still fitted during his reconnaissance laps.

A lengthy FIA statement read out:

"The Stewards heard from the Driver of Car 10 (Pierre Gasly) and the team representative, reviewed video and in-car video evidence and examined a recovered piece of equipment.

'Car 10 left its garage to commence reconnaissance laps with a protective shield covering the antenna still attached. The car entered the track with the antenna shield still attached. It dislodged when the car was on track.

"The antenna shield was recovered by trackside officials and was delivered to the Stewards. The team acknowledged that the item held by the Stewards was their antenna shield. The Driver said that his line of sight of the antenna shield was obscured by the halo and he had no idea it was there until he saw something fly off the car and he immediately reported that fact to the team.

"The team representative explained that they were trying to overcome communication problems when preparing the car for the reconnaissance laps and the fact that the antenna shield had not been removed was missed.

The team only recognised the issue after the car had entered the fast lane and a judgment call was made that, given the manner in which it engaged over two antennae, the shield was unlikely to dislodge on one lap to the grid. The team acknowledged that it was a mistake to have made that assumption and they ought with hindsight to have told the driver to pull out of the fast lane and stop before he reached Pit Exit.

"The Stewards determined that by releasing the car with the antenna shield still connected, the team released Car 10 in an unsafe condition. While not a large nor heavy object, the shield could have struck another driver or car on the track when it dislodged and caused injury or damage.

"The Stewards accept that the team believed that the shield would remain in place until it reached the grid but that belief was clearly misplaced. The team ought to have instructed the Driver to stop the Car before it entered the track.

"The Stewards therefore determined to impose a fine on the team consistent with penalties imposed for similar infringements."

It is the second time Gasly has been under scrutiny from the stewards this weekend, although he was cleared of any wrongdoing for an alleged blocking of Max Verstappen in Q2 of Sprint Qualifying on Friday.

Follow all the reaction to the Sprint Race and the build up to qualifying in China on GPblog's live coverage!

Red Bull driver summoned to stewards after Chinese Grand Prix Sprint outing

Gasly was not the only Frenchman under scrutiny, as Isack Hadjar has also been summoned by the stewards.

Hadjar finished 15th in the 19-lap showdown, was alleged to have breached Article 12.2.1 of the FIA International Sporting Code alongside Item 13.5 of the Race Director’s Competition Guidelines for failing to follow race director instructions during a practice start.

Hadjar was also involved in a collision with Kimi Antonelli, who received a ten-second penalty for the incident and finished P5 in the Sprint Race.

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