Aston Martin Driver Faces Penalty after Practice Session Collision
In a surprising turn of events, Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll has been given a one-place grid drop for the upcoming Monaco Grand Prix. This penalty comes as a result of his collision with Ferrari‘s Charles Leclerc during Friday’s opening practice session.
Collision at the Hairpin
The incident occurred at the hairpin, where Stroll, who was crossing towards the racing line, collided with Leclerc. This happened nine minutes into the session as Leclerc was approaching on a hot lap.
Leclerc had no chance to slow down in time to avoid the collision, and according to team radio, Stroll claimed he hadn’t heard his race engineer’s message about Leclerc approaching.
Stewards Investigation and Penalty Imposed
Following the incident, both drivers were summoned to the FIA’s race stewards for an explanation. The stewards found Stroll entirely at fault for the collision.
An FIA statement read: “The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 18 (Stroll), the driver of Car 16 (Leclerc), team representatives, and reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, timing, team radio, and in-car video evidence. They determined that Car 18 cut across the path of Car 16 at Turn 6, causing Car 16 to collide into Car 18.
The statement continued, “Car 16 suffered damage as a result. The driver of Car 18 stated that although the team warned him of the arrival of Car 16, he did not hear the radio message and that led to the incident.”
Aston Martin’s Response and Impact on Stroll
Aston Martin boss Andy Cowell laid the blame on the team, revealing the damage the incident had done to Stroll’s car. He stated, “Our radio call wasn’t clear enough is the bottom line, so we need to learn from that.
The collision resulted in rear suspension damage and a gearbox change for Stroll’s car, causing him to miss FP1. Cowell added, “Rear wishbone broken, damage to the floor, and so the best option is to change the gearbox, because we set up two gearboxes yesterday ready for that sort of scenario. And the downside is that Lance doesn’t get FP1 back.”
Leclerc’s Recovery and Top Three Finish
After the red flag, Leclerc returned to the track to lead the session with a 1m11.964s around the halfway mark. This time held until the end as Red Bull’s world champion Max Verstappen and McLaren‘s Lando Norris filled the top three spots.
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