Stewards at F1’s Sao Paulo GP have handed Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll a 10-second penalty and a large number of three-point penalties for “driving team-mate Sebastian Vettel dangerously off the track”.
Both were battling for 11th place. Exiting turn 3 on lap 7, Vettel was deflected by Stroll as he attempted to overtake, forcing him to drop his two left wheels onto the grass on his shoulder. A similar scene was seen just the other day at the US GP.
On lap 22 of the COTA race, following a change of line to protect position from Fernando Alonso behind, a high-speed crash occurred on the back straight. The stewards awarded Stroll with three grid points and two penalty points for the following race.
Stewards review video evidence following the Interlagos crash. It was ruled that Stroll “deliberately swerved left after exiting turn 3 and dangerously forced the No. 5 car off the track”.
As a result, Stroll, who had finished 12th, dropped to 17th. With the addition of 3 penalty points, the accumulated points came to 8 points. If you reach 12 points in 12 months, you will be suspended for one race.
After closing in, the four-time F1 world champion simply whispered ‘OK’ on the radio and passed Stroll without difficulty on the final stretch of the lap. Even though he lost one point, he finished in 9th place.
2022 F1 Sao Paulo GP SprintGeorge Russell (Mercedes) won from behind. Second Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and third Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes).
The formation lap of the final race began at 27:00 on November 13 (Sunday), Japan time. Compete for the championship by completing 71 laps of the 4309m Interlagos circuit.
