Austrian GP 2023: F1 faces unprecedented scenarios after eight drivers suffer penalties

Max Verstappen won his fifth race in a row by clinching victory at the Red Bull Ring on Sunday during the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix 2023. While Charles Leclerc returned to the podium with a P2 finish, Sergio Perez gained 12 places to finish third. The main race during the Austrian GP weekend concluded with lots of confusion around the final classification as a total of eight drivers were handed penalties by the stewards after the race.

3 Things You Need To Know

• FIA said over 1200 instances of track limits violations were reported
• Several teams submitted protests against the initial race classification in the Austrian GP 2023
• Track limit infringements include drivers repeatedly leaving the track boundaries

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Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton among drivers to suffer demotion at Red Bull Ring

As Max Verstappen won the race, the top 10 classifications saw a plethora of changes after eight drivers were handed penalties for track limit infringements. “The FIA has released the final classification of results for the Austrian Grand Prix after a string of retrospective penalties for track limit infringements were handed down. Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton are two of the drivers to be demoted in the new standings, with Lando Norris elevated to fourth place while Fernando Alonso and George Russell also rise up in the results,” F1 said releasing the final results.

The drivers to be handed penalties were Sainz, Hamilton, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Esteban Ocon, Logan Sargeant, Nyck de Vries and Yuki Tsunoda. Due to the penalties, Sainz dropped from P4 to P6, resulting in Lando Norris getting elevated to P4 and Fernando Alonso to P5. At the same time, Hamilton dropped a place to P8 while Russell climbed to P7.  While Pierre Gasly dropped a place to P10, Lance Stroll rose to P9.

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F1 Austrian GP 2023: List of penalties imposed on drivers after the race

• Carlos Sainz – 10-second time penalty
• Lewis Hamilton – 10-second time penalty
• Pierre Gasly – 10-second time penalty
• Alex Albon – 10-second time penalty
• Esteban Ocon – 5-second time penalty
• Esteban Ocon – 10-second time penalty
• Esteban Ocon – 5-second time penalty
• Esteban Ocon – 10-second time penalty (30 seconds in total for Ocon)
• Logan Sargeant – 10-second time penalty
• Nyck de Vries – 10-second time penalty
• Nyck de Vries – 5-second time penalty (15 seconds in total for De Vries)
• Yuki Tsunoda – 5-second time penalty

Meanwhile, Formula 1 will be back in action in less than a week’s time for the British Grand Prix 2023 in the coming weekend.