F1 driver slapped with 50-place grid penalty for British Grand Prix
One driver will have his work cut out at the British Grand Prix after being slapped with a monster grid penalty.
Pierre Gasly will start the British Grand Prix from the back of the grid after picking up five separate 10-place grid penalties, totalling a 50-spot deduction, for exceeding his seasonal allocation of several power unit components.
The Alpine driver heads into the race at Silverstone on a four-race point-scoring streak following a dramatic upturn in form for the Enstone-based outfit, but keeping that run going at the British GP will now be a tough task.
Gasly breached his allocation of the internal combustion engine, turbo charger, MGU-H, MGU-K and control electronics for the race at Silverstone, picking up a 10-second penalty for each case.
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Gasly's recovery job will be made much more difficult by a compromised final free practice session. The Frenchman had a spin in sector three, sending him into the gravel and out of the cockpit after just eight minutes.
Addressing his start to the weekend on Friday, Gasly said: “Jack [Doohan] ran the car in FP1 today and once again did a great job working with the team and getting useful data, although he did not get as much running in as expected due to a red flag. I will have to take a grid penalty on Sunday for a change of Power Unit and battery.
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"For FP2, I was mainly then trying to get a first feeling of the car at this track. And I have to say I am not satisfied so far with how the car felt, although of course we only got minimal running in. As I will start from last position on Sunday, the focus for the rest of the weekend will be to get the car set-up and balance in the right window for the race so we can attack.
"There is lots of work for us to do overnight and the rest of the weekend, but I hope for Sunday we can be in a position again to move up the field and possibly fight for some points.”
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Despite the setback of his bumper grid penalty, sacrificing his weekend at Silverstone will stand him in good stead heading into the final two race weekends before the summer shut-off.
Alpine are on a clear upward trajectory and with Gasly's future already safe following confirmation of his multi-year contract extension, the 28-year-old can continue to build with the Enstone-based team.