Ferrari's Carlos Sainz among others slamed with multiple penalties ahead of Canadian GP

Why You Are Reading This: The Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix 2023 is all set to go underway on Sunday, after an action-filled qualifying session on Saturday. The rain gods wreaked havoc in Montreal during the qualifying session at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, with rain affecting all three sessions. F1 handed grid penalties to several drivers for Sunday’s main race, which meant Fernando Alonso would start the race from P2, following Max Verstappen in pole position.

3 Things You Need To Know

• Carlos Sainz, Yuki Tsunoda, and Lance Stroll were among the drivers to be penalised by FIA
• Max Verstappen starts the race from pole, eyeing his sixth race of the F1 2023 season
• Fernando Alonso heads into the Canadian GP 2023, eyeing his 33rd career win

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Canadian GP 2023: FIA hands out penalties to multiple drivers for impeding

Impeding was a common occurrence during the qualifying session for the Canadian GP 2023 on Saturday. While Nico Hulkenberg qualified at P2 below Verstappen, a three-place for failing to slow down during a red flag meant we would drop to P5 in the starting grid. Alongside Hulkenberg, Sainz, Tsunoda, and Stroll were handed penalties by the Formula 1 governing body for impeding others.

While Ferrari driver Sainz initially qualified at P8, a three-place penalty for impeding Alpine’s Pierre Gasly meant he would start the race from P11, below his teammate Charles Leclerc.

“Carlos Sainz has been handed a three-place grid drop for the Canadian Grand Prix after being found guilty by the stewards of impeding rival Pierre Gasly in the final stages of Q1 in qualifying in Montreal on Saturday afternoon. Gasly was completing his final lap in Q1 when the cameras showed him being forced to go off track to avoid Sainz at the final chicane, meaning the Alpine driver missed out on Q2, and is set to start Sunday’s race from 17th,” said F1 on their website.

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“Sainz, however, made it into Q3 and qualified in eighth, but with the three-place grid drop he will start the race from 11th. This means that Oscar Piastri, Alex Albon and his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc will all gain a place from his demotion,” F1 added. Later in the day, FIA dished out a three-place grid penalty each for AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll. Tsunoda will start the race from P16 for impeding Hulkenberg, whereas Stroll will start at P16 due to the penalty for impeding Esteban Ocon.