Gasly demoted to back of grid for Azerbaijan GP following fuel flow violation
Baku, Azerbaijan - Alpine driver Pierre Gasly has found himself at the rear of the grid for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after an unfortunate technical fault led to his car exceeding the permitted fuel flow rate during Saturday's qualifying session.
Originally qualifying in 13th place, Gasly's performance was nullified after Formula 1 officials discovered that his car had surpassed the 100 kilograms per hour fuel flow limit, a strict regulation aimed at maintaining fairness and safety in the sport.
Formula 1’s technical regulations are unwavering on the fuel mass flow rate, with sensors installed to ensure compliance. Despite the fact that the spike in fuel flow caused a slower lap time, the stewards were left with no option but to disqualify Gasly in adherence to the rules.
“The Technical Delegate reported that Car 10 exceeded the permitted 100Kg/h fuel mass flow on the final timed lap of Q2,” the stewards announced.
Team representatives from Alpine stated that the issue was due to an "unexpected short duration technical fault" that momentarily caused the fuel flow to rise unexpectedly beyond the limit. This explanation was corroborated by FIA technical staff.
“That the fuel mass flow was greater than the limit at that moment was not disputed by the competitor,” the stewards continued. “The competitor demonstrated to the stewards that the technical fault resulted in a slower lap time and that no performance advantage was obtained at that moment. Thus, they argue, this should be taken into mitigation.”
The stewards did take into consideration the team's argument that breaches of this regulation are exceedingly rare, suggesting that overshooting the limit was an unintended error rather than a deliberate strategy. However, adherence to the rulebook necessitated Gasly’s penalty.
As a result, Pierre Gasly, who had been optimistic about his mid-field start, will now face the challenge of climbing up from the very back of the grid when the race begins on Sunday.
This setback is sure to test Gasly's skills and resilience, as well as the strategic acumen of the Alpine team, as they look to minimize the impact of this penalty on their overall performance in the Azerbaijan GP.
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