Formula 1 in Baku

Alpine trouble! Gasly disqualified from qualifying

Pierre Gasly has to start the race from last place on the grid.

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Alpine driver Pierre Gasly has been disqualified from qualifying. As a result, the Frenchman loses grid position 13 and has to start from the back of the field in today's race (from 1pm). His car apparently exceeded the permitted fuel flow limit in Q2. The difficulties at Alpine continue.

"The driver was summoned to give him the opportunity to defend himself, but he did not attend the hearing. The technical delegate reported that car 10 (Gasly) had exceeded the permitted fuel mass flow rate of 100 kg/h on the last timed lap," reads the official statement on the disqualification. 

As a result, Gasly was removed from the classification on Saturday evening. His strong 13th place from qualifying is therefore history. Instead, he has to start the race from last place on the grid. The 28-year-old did not want to go into the subject too much, but emphasized: "I'm actually pretty happy with the result of today's qualifying. It's obviously a shame that we were disqualified for a minor offense with the fuel supply." 

A bumpy start to the weekend
When the stewards visited, the Alpine engineers tried to explain that the infringement was a technical defect that would not have brought any performance advantage. However, this was not seen as a reason to reduce the usual penalty, i.e. disqualification.

Esteban Ocon

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

In general, the weekend in Baku has been very difficult for Alpine so far. On Friday, the engine of Esteban Ocon's car had to be changed. The fuel pump then failed and Ocon finished last in qualifying after hitting the wall. Gasly's 13th place seemed to be a ray of hope, but now he is keeping his team-mate company at the back of the field.