MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Pierre Gasly will have to stay out of trouble until May — well into next season — after Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix left the AlphaTauri driver just two penalty points away from a Formula One race ban.
The Frenchman, who is joining Renault-owned Alpine at the end of the year as replacement for Fernando Alonso, now has 10 points on his licence with 12 in a 12 month period triggering an automatic suspension.
He was given a five second penalty and a point on his licence on Sunday for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, forcing Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll off as well, without giving back the place.
Gasly, who finished 11th, said he had not been told to give back the place and would have a discussion about what to do differently to avoid future points.
“I don’t feel like I’ve been that dangerous over the last 12 months, and it would be a shame to get a race ban for slowing down a bit too much behind the safety car and a couple of track limits (breaches) this year,” he told reporters.
The Frenchman suggested there might be changes to the penalty points rules next year that could get him off the hook.
“I think they’re working on it and probably for next year, there are going to be changes. That’s good to hear,” he said.
Gasly has had penalty points in Spain (2), Austria (3), Japan (2), the United States (2) and Mexico (1) — four of them for collisions, two for speeding during red flag conditions, and two for being more than 10 car lengths behind the safety car.
The other two were for exceeding track limits repeatedly and going off and gaining an advantage.
He was also fined for pitlane speeding in France, Belgium and Canada and reprimanded in Canada for failing to follow the race directors’ notes.
Gasly will not shed any penalty points until May because the first of his 10 were collected at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya on May 22.
That means he has to be careful for the last two races of 2022 and possibly the first seven of 2023 unless China, scheduled for April 16, is dropped due to continuing COVID-19 restrictions.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Christian Radnedge)
