"I don't want one single question about the penalty," thunders Pierre Gasly after inching closer to F1 race ban
Pierre Gasly was annoyed at the penalties he collected for an incident during the 2022 F1 Mexican GP. The Frenchman expressed his anger at the stewards for penalizing him harshly, which pushed him closer to a race ban.
Speaking to the on-site media after the Mexican GP, the Frenchman said:
“I don’t want one single question about the penalty because I’m tired of this. I’m a racing driver. If I see a gap, I go for a gap. If you’re not happy about it, just tell me to give the position back, and then I’ll try again. I wasn’t given any comments [to give the position back], so that’s a shame. That’s what they’ve done in the past, but for some reason, not this time.”
#MexicoGP #Race 5 seconds time penalty for #PierreGasly, again 🙄 https://t.co/vo4GCRb4Xb
In the opening stages of the 2022 F1 Mexican GP, Pierre Gasly forced Lance Stroll off track while overtaking the latter. The AlphaTauri driver, however, was not informed to give the position back, which resulted in the penalty.
With the most recent penalty in Mexico, Gasly has now collected a total of 10 points in a period of 12 months. With two races remaining, 12 penalty points within the same period could result in a race ban for the Frenchman. It must be noted here that Gasly's 12-month period ends in May 2023, when the penalty slate will be wiped clean.
Annoyed at the questions about his penalties, the Frenchman declined to answer any questions about them as he disagreed with the stewards' decision.
Pierre Gasly will be speaking to the FIA about his Mexico penalty
The Frenchman believes it was odd that he was not told to give the position back to Lance Stroll after forcing the latter off-track, instead handing him a penalty. Pierre Gasly feels it is unfortunate that he was involved in an incident but wants to have a discussion with the FIA regarding his penalty.
Here are the updated penalty points after the Mexico City GP… 🇲🇽
Pierre Gasly is only 2 points away from a race ban. It is worth noting that none of his points will expire until May 2023 👀
#sector1motorsport #sector1podcast #penaltypoints #pierregasly #alphatauri #formula1 https://t.co/Gwi88ZSpjl
Further expressing disappointment at the situation, Gasly explained:
“It’s a shame it’s the same story. It’s just a shame to be involved in these incidents. I’ll have to change my approach because every weekend it seems to be quite the same story, so I’ll have to change something. This weekend was quite tight, I don’t know why I wasn’t given a message to give the position back. At the end of the day, I try my best inside the car, the last thing I want is to [pick up] stupid penalty points and lose race time. At the moment, they’re unhappy with what I’m doing so I will have a discussion with them to understand exactly what I’ve got to change.”
With Pierre Gasly moving to Alpine next season, he must have clean races in the final two rounds of the calendar. The Frenchman cannot afford any more penalties that could impose a race ban on him for the finale or even for next season where he will be racing for another team.